According to plan
by Marmaladeskiies
Summary: After her apartment floods, Levy ends up sharing a living space with Gajeel, and somehow ends up recruiting Lucy in a mission to get her sulky new housemate to notice her more and upgrade their relationship. But Lucy's schemes to get the pair together may cause more trouble than they're worth, and Levy may find that her feelings are not as unrequited as she thought...
1. Chapter 1

**chapter one**

* * *

Levy sighed, twirling her straw around in her fruit smoothie, no longer feeling the desperate thirst that had made her buy it in the first place.

"What's up? I thought you were thirsty." Lucy said, licking her lips and slurping her own.  
"I know, I was..." Levy replied slowly. She hadn't been feeling herself for a few days, but she felt more lethargic than ever now. Lucy frowned.  
"Levy, what's wrong with you? I've noticed you look down, but I thought it was about that fight with Jet and Droy. Is that really all there is to it, or are you not telling me something?" she reached across and took Levy's hand with a warm smile. "You can trust me, you know. We're not best friends for nothing!" Levy returned the smile and nodded.  
"Yeah. Well, to be honest, I don't really know what it is. I've been feeling... lonely, I guess. Not alone," she continued quickly, seeing Lucy about to interrupt, "but like... I want a relationship. Or just... I don't know." she mumbled, blushing a little. She didn't know what had come over her- a boyfriend had always been at the bottom of her priorities. "I mean, I'm almost eighteen years old, I'm not as helpful on missions as you, Natsu, or Erza... I just want a change. I... I want some excitement." Levy mumbled into her drink, taking a long sip. She chanced a look at Lucy, who looked surprised, but overwhelmingly excited.  
"Oh, Levy! I know exactly what you need. You need a change of pace! I felt the same way, not so long ago, and I began to look around me, and see people differently. I wanted different things from them than I did at the start. Is that it?" she asked suddenly, as though worried she was taking the conversation in a completely different direction. Levy nodded emphatically.  
"Exactly! I mean, I spend all my time reading, and I love it, I adore all my books, I get excited about finding new things to learn... but then I look up and I see..." Levy fidgeted a little, but steamrollered on anyways. "..and I just... I get this feeling, like I start thinking about what I could do _right then_ to shake things up. Change the situation. I start thinking..." her face felt very hot, but Lucy's constant nods gave her confidence. "I start thinking about what would happen if I did this or if I said that... I don't know... I think I'm just bored... or impatient with how my life is right now. I want..." she trailed off, but Lucy grabbed her hand, nodding enthusiastically nonetheless.  
"Levy, I'm so glad you came to me! Now I know I'm not the only one who's a pervert.." she cried, tears welling up in her eyes.  
"L-Lucy, don't-" Levy protested in embarassment, freezing as she noticed the other customers glancing over at their table. "I'm not a pervert!" she insisted in a whisper. "I didn't mean anything perverted!" Lucy laughed and shrugged.  
"Oh well. But the real question here is, are you looking at anybody in particular when you feel you want something to change? Or in general?" she asked. Levy frowned.  
"Well...I don't think those things about my team, if that's what you mean. I think teammates are too close to become anything more." Lucy grinned.  
"Poor Jet and Droy..." she murmured. Levy sighed. "But... well, don't tell anyone!" she said suddenly, shaking her head passionately.  
"I promise." Lucy said, pressing the hand with her Fairy Tail stamp on it to her chest.  
"Well... you know since my room flooded after Juvia's sleepover with Aquarius? And Jet and Droy didn't have any room for me in their apartment?"  
"To Jet and Droy's eternal disappointment, yeah.." Lucy nodded.  
"And you were away with Natsu and Gray, so I couldn't ask you..."  
"That's right, I forgot! Where exactly are you staying, again?" Lucy asked, surprised that she'd forgotten about her friend's troubles.  
"Well... I mean... Master suggested it, but... even before, he offered... sort of..."  
"No way!" Lucy exclaimed suddenly, her chair falling back as she leapt to her feet. "No way!" she repeated, leaning straight over the table in excitement.  
"Lucy, your boobs are in my face..." Levy said, embarassed as her friend's titanic titties swung back as she sat down again.  
"Sorry. But I _cannot _believe _Gajeel _asked you to stay with him!" Lucy marveled.  
"Well, I mean... it was a coincidence, because he was sitting in the guild when I was telling Master I didn't have a place to stay until my apartment dried out... and then he kind of looked over... and then Master asked him if he had any room... and he said that as long as I didn't mind sharing with Pantherlily..."  
"Oh my god, oh my god, Levy!" Lucy said excitedly, after chugging what looked like half of her smoothie in one go. "This is so fun! So you've got a crush on Gajeel still?"  
"What do you mean 'still'?" Levy demanded hotly. Lucy laughed.  
"Don't get all defensive on me! It's been _months _since the S-class trial, you've been blushing like a virgin in sex shop ever since! I _know _you've got a king-sized crush on that guy and his abs of steel! And I think he likes you more than you think."  
"Don't say things like that, it's not true." Levy protested. "Gajeel doesn't like me. I'm annoying, I'm weak, and I'm small."  
"But didn't he say he was going to 'make you big'?" Lucy said, her hand hardly covering her wide smirk as she imitated his voice. "That sounds like a euphamism if ever there was one."  
"Lucy!" Levy protested again.

Maybe it hadn't been a good idea to confess to her friend- after all Lucy was enthusiastic about _everything_, so that certainly seemed to include other peoples' love lives. Not that Levy had a love life to speak of... but perhaps that was what was bothering her? She sighed again. As somebody who always knew what they wanted in life, and who knew themselves very well, it was difficult for her to cope with this gnawing sense that she wanted something _new_, but she didn't know what or why.  
"But is it Gajeel who you feel this way about? You think about what you could do to... to what?" Lucy asked, chewing her straw, her drink gone. Levy bit her lip. "Well... to make him notice me. He never notices. Even now we're living together, he doesn't... pay attention. I mean, I don't expect him to, because I'm not the type of person he likes... I'm not strong." Lucy rubbed her best friend's shoulder. She never found it difficult to be positive, but it certainly was an uphill climb trying to boost Levy's self-esteem when it came to her physical capabilities.  
"By 'take notice', do you mean... you want him to notice that he could fall in love with you? Or do you want him to notice that you're sexy?" Levy blew a stray lock of hair out of her face and rested her chin on her fist.  
"Well, y'know... let's be honest here. I'm seventeen. I've got tits the size of thumbtacks in a guild full of F-cup chicks. It wouldn't be unwelcome to be found attractive." she said with a grin. Lucy laughed before realizing that under Levy's joking tone was a genuine feeling.  
"Tell me the truth, Levy. Do you just want sex, or do you want _Gajeel_?" she asked, planting her palms down flat on the table. Levy blushed and gripped her knees tightly.  
"It's hard to admit... I'm not brave at all like you, Lucy... but... I can't _say _it, but when you asked me, there was only... only one feeling in me. So..." Lucy grinned.  
"Well, alright then. Let's get this love boat out to sea!" she cheered, raising her fist in the air. Levy raised her glass half-heartedly.  
"...Right..."

Levy walked home, the early evening air blowing through her choppy hair, making goosebumps rise on her bare arms. She sighed at the pink sky above the setting sun as she remembered the tail end of her conversation with Lucy.

_"Okay, we're working under the assumption that Gajeel already has feelings for you."  
"Why are we doing that?"  
"Because I think he does, and I am in charge."  
"Fine, Lucy, but-"  
"The first thing we need to do is get Pantherlily on the team. Tonight, you go home and interrogate him. Ask about Gajeel. Ask what he thinks of you. If it comes down to it, tell him your feelings, but only as a last resort- cats are tricky little animals. Be cautious."  
"Okay and-"  
"Once that's done, do exactly what you usually do, but spice it up a little. If you excercise in the morning, leave the door open and wear something cute. If you have a shower, come out wearing your towel. If you have lunch together, make it special. Meet me for lunch tomorrow at Taco Tail, and dish it all!"  
"Okay, but Lucy-"  
"I'm meeting Loke at the hot springs, see you later!"_

Levy sighed again. She wished she hadn't got Lucy into this- she wasn't even sure that she wanted to go on with the plan, but Lucy was waiting for her to 'dish it all' tomorrow...  
"Well, there's simply no helping it." she murmured.  
"No helping what?"  
Levy jumped in surprise and looked up at Gajeel, who was leaning against the wall, his arms folded, Pantherlily on his shoulder.

* * *

**/**


	2. Chapter 2

**chapter two**

* * *

Levy jumped in surprise and looked up at Gajeel, who was leaning against the wall, his arms folded, Pantherlily on his shoulder.

"Gajeel!" Levy gasped, well aware of the colour rising in her cheeks. She looked away quickly, scuffing her foot on the pavement. "Weren't you supposed to be back late tonight?" she asked. He tossed his head and re-folded his arms.  
"Didn't you say you wanted my help with something?" he said in a voice that was mostly a rough grunt.  
"W-Well, yes, but I didn't mean to trouble-"  
"Well, I'm here now." he interrupted, and began to walk towards his apartment. After a few seconds, Levy followed, a little smile on her face.  
"Thank you." she said belatedly, earning herself a grunt in return. They walked towards the setting sun, Levy in Gajeel's shadow, for the next two blocks in silence.  
Levy thought again about Lucy's enthusiastic advice and shook her head- there was no way anything could ever happen, no matter what she did. Gajeel wasn't the friendliest of people, so surely romance was completely out of the question as well.

"So what exactly did you need me for?" he asked in a bored voice once they'd reached the apartment and Levy had brought him to the room she was currently sharing with Pantherlily.  
"Um, up there..." she pointed at the top shelf in the bookcase, far out of her reach, even if she stood on a chair. "Can you get the blue book down for me? Please?" she asked. Gajeel put his hands on his hips as he looked where she pointed, then grinned, showing his pointed teeth.  
"And why is that all the way up there? There's no way a shrimp like you could've put it there in the first place." he said, patting her on the head like he always did when commenting on her height. Levy swatted his hands away and glared at him.  
"Hey! Why are you always teasing me about my height? It's not like your insults are going to make me grow!" she said hotly, but felt bad immediately afterwards- after all, he was going to help her. "Pantherlily flew it up there for me, but he forgot to bring it back down." she said, smiling at the black cat on Gajeel's shoulder. Pantherlily nodded.  
"Sorry, Levy. Gajeel and I were training early this morning, and although I initially merely didn't want to wake you, I admit that I did forget about it." he said. Gajeel rolled his eyes at the cat, reached up, grabbed the book, and tossed it at Levy, who caught it gratefully.  
"You sure are a pain..." Gajeel yawned, and walked out of the room. Levy glared after him, then dropped her gaze to the book in her arms.  
"Yeah, right, Lucy... I don't even know _why _I like this jerk..." she muttered as she sat down to read.

Hours later, Levy glanced up from the book and realized it was completely dark outside. She stood up and switched off her lamp, wincing as her feet stung as she stumbled to the bathroom to brush her teeth. She glanced at the clock on the way and shook her head in embarassment, realizing it would be dawn in just a half-hour or so. She always lost track of time while reading- but to be honest, that was something she loved to do. The more time she lost deep in a world of knowledge, the longer she could avoid the confusion that now seemed to plague her days.

When she finally returned to her room and flopped into the bed Gajeel had set up for her next to Pantherlily's huge monogrammed bed suite, she could barely keep her eyes open, but her mind was now buzzing with guilt- she hadn't even started to set Lucy's plan into action. She was supposed to have talked to Pantherlily, but she didn't dare wake him up at this hour... She yawned and stretched, snuggling down into the black sheets and pillows, which all smelled faintly of Gajeel...  
"Oh dear..." she muttered, shaking her head and blushing.  
"Something troubling you?" Levy felt like she'd jumped a mile.  
"Pantherlily!" she whispered, staring up at the little cat who was flying down to her bed from his tall sleeping palace. "Did I wake you up?" she asked, sitting up. The cat shook his head after landing on the pillow next to her.  
"Don't worry. I am a very light sleeper, and Exceeds don't need as much sleep as much as humans, anyway- although Happy may be an exception."  
"Oh!" Levy laughed, relaxing.  
"I thought you looked troubled. Is there something on your mind?" Lily asked. Levy sighed and patted the cat's head softly.  
"Sort of. I don't want to trouble you about it- it's really nothing." she said. Lily flapped over closer and perched on her knees.  
"You are Gajeel's friend. What troubles you troubles him, and thus me. Besides..." he cleared his throat. "It has been a pleasant change, having you stay here. I've grown to like you very much, Levy. I... would like to help you, if I can." Levy pressed her hands to her cheeks, smiling like a little kid.  
"Oh Lily! I've loved staying with you too!" she cried, reaching forward and hugging the kitty, who purred quietly before coming back to his serious self.  
"So, what is the problem? Something up with your team?" he asked. Levy shook her head.  
"No, Jet and Droy are no problem..." Levy bit her lip. "It's just hard to talk about this, because it's really quite silly... and you're his cat..." Levy murmured. Lily folded his tiny arms.  
"Gajeel, hmm? Have you had a fight?" Levy sighed and stroked Lily's ears. He normally would have protested -he usually found such casual contact inappropriate- but he had grown quite fond of Levy, and she seemed out of sorts.  
"No, I just... I wish he would notice me more. It's ridiculous to say that, I mean, I'm inconveniencing him by staying here...and I know I'm not strong, and I can't train with him or fight with him or be his friend in the way Natsu and Gray and you are... in spite of that, though... I wish I could make him _see _me more..." Tears welled up in Levy's eyes, and she wiped them away, embarassed and surprised. "Sorry, I didn't... I didn't think it was a big deal, but-" she mumbled, shocked that she was crying over something so trivial. Lily put a paw on her arm.  
"Don't cry, Levy. Gajeel is not the easiest person to get along with, and it's true that he values strength... however," the cat continued, folding his arms again. "I do believe that he values you more than you think. Gajeel surprised even me by allowing you to stay here- if he thought you were an inconvenience, I'm sure he would not have invited you here in the first place. You should have more confidence." Lily said, before giving Levy a final nod and flying back up to his loft. "Thanks, Lily." Levy murmured with a smile, and lay back down to sleep, thinking over what he had said.

A few hours later, Levy crawled out of bed, brushed her teeth, and put Lucy's plan into action. She dug around in her bag for her training outfit and held it up, looking at it critically. She found it comfortable, and it was perfect, considering the amount of physical exertion she usually went through (not much), but she was sure that Lucy wouldn't consider capris and a loose t-shirt as quite the right sort of thing to attract Gajeel's attention.  
Levy sighed and searched her bag again, this time emerging with her black spandex shorts, bright blue crossback sports bra, and loose, black cropped tank top. She pulled them on, pulled her choppy hair back with a black hairband, secured tape over the balls of her feet, and shoved her cd into Gajeel's player. He and Lily were out doing their morning training session, so Levy was sure she wouldn't be interrupted- although the entire point was for Gajeel to see her, she really wasn't confident that being a sweaty mess was going to work magic, although she knew Lucy would beg to differ.

As her music began to play, she took a few deep breaths to calm herself and to empty her mind, and then just let her body follow the motions it had been practicing for years.  
She slipped into splits, reaching both arms over her head to her left foot, then her right. She placed both hands palm-down on the floor, swung her legs back behind her and raised her head up, pushing her torso off the ground. She smoothly leant her weight back, pressed her heels down against the floor, straightened her legs, and formed a triangle, stretching out her arms, calves, and back.

She sucked in a sharp breath and pushed forwards, raising her feet off the ground, tucking her legs in towards her bum and holding her entire weight up on her hands. She rolled out, propped herself up and raised first one leg, then the other, straight into the air, pulling them against her chest. She rolled up into a standing position, and relaxed her torso, folding down at her hips to pull her face to her knees, enjoying the burn of her thighs and calves. She slid her feet out, placed one hand on the floor between them, twisted her back and raised the other straight into the air, then switched sides and did the same.  
Feeling more herself, happier now that her mind was clear while she stretched, she let herself play a little, and bent her hands back down on to the floor, raising her legs up again, and walked to Gajeel's pull-up bar on her hands. She wasn't very strong, and she was no where near big enough to be any competition in hand-to-hand combat, but Levy had always been determined to use her body to its full capacity, and she was pleased that her goal had been fulfilled: had the S-class trial been soley based on agility, she was pretty certain she'd've won it easily.

She jumped lightly up to the bar, grabbed it firmly, and swung her legs up between her stomach and the bar, letting her weight stretch out her arms. She slid out of the position, swung back and forth for momentum, and pulled her body up over the bar, holding her legs out in a straddle, things resting on her elbows, holding herself up, glad of Gajeel's high ceiling, which allowed her more than enough space.  
She was panting- she got tired much faster than Jet and Droy, so her early-morning workouts had been an effort to increase her endurance. She swung down, and, feeling energized, walked over to the cd player and switched tracks to a heavy club beat. She began to run in place, her feet thudding on the floor faster and faster, matching the 5-beat-per-second bassline. She swung her head around, letting her hair fly away from her sweaty face as she span in place, her legs hot from the constant motion. She raised her hands up and sang along to the song for a few bars, circling her hips as she worked up to her fastest pace, her feet drumming on the floor.

Levy had long ago realized that she would never exceed most members of the guild in terms of stamina or speed- and strength was certainly out of the question- but she needed to be able to keep up. She closed her eyes, timing the beats of her feet with the beat of the music, feeling it in her bones. Sweat was flying away from her in drops as she span, twisting and turning with the music. She span out of her run and swung her hands down to her feet, raising one leg straight up as she did so. She held it for as long as she could, pushing her leg back until it was vertical, held it more, than switched, doing the same with the other leg. She pressed both palms into the ground, raised her feet again into a handstand, tucked her knees in, and bent her arms. She could only manage five of these push-up variants, but she was determined to improve her upper-body strength, and her core was weak enough to make normal ones uncomfortable.

She swung her legs up straight again, and tipped them over her head until they touched the ground, flipping herself back onto her feet. She slid her feet out sideways, down once again into the splits, but this time pressed her palms into the ground in front of her and raised herself up. She flexed her feet upwards, feeling the burn in her abs, watching her arms tremble under the strain. She swung her legs back, then over her head again, this time holding the bridge for a few seconds before raising first one, then the other leg into the air. She rolled out, lay on her back, and raised her hips. This was the core excercize she always found the most embarassing, but she liked it best because it worked well for her. She took a breath to feel the beat again, then raised and lowered her hips to it. She did this for the last quarter of the song, then got up and walked over to Gajeel's punching bag.

It was made of steel, so obviously she never used it for its intended purpose- she would end up in the hospital faster than she could say 'ow'- but she had found a use for it. With a deep breath, she jumped up, grabbing the chain that held it off the floor in her hands. Her legs wrapped around the top half of it, squeezing tightly. Once she was sure she had a good grip with her thighs, she let go her hands and leant back, relaxing her back until her torso hung down towards the floor, her body only held up by her legs. The next song came on, and she held her neck with her hands as she pulled herself up, doing vertical sit-ups, her abs burning, her thighs pressing tightly against the metal pillar. She couldn't do more than fifteen, and dropped down, landing in a hand-stand, which she rolled out from.

She was breathing heavily, covered in drops of sweat. Her workouts might be nothing more than glorified stretches, but they sure tired her out. She skipped tracks again to a slower song, and re-did her starting stretches, spending more time on the splits, pressing her chest to the floor in a centre-splits between her right and left-leg pulls. Her stomach pressed to the ground, she sighed and reached back, rubbing her sore bum- not that anyone had noticed, she thought sourly, but her butt had gotten bigger after she started adding more squats to her regular workouts. She would normally call this a plus -any sort of curves were definitely welcome- but it was always sore after working out. She pouted and rubbed it some more.

A sound from behind her made her freeze in place, in centre splits with her hand on her butt.

"Gajeel?" she whispered, raising her head and turning it to check- ridiculous as it might sound, she got ambushed so much on missions, she usually thought anybody sneaking up on her was an enemy. She breathed a small sigh of relief when she spotted her temporary housemate, standing in the doorway, looking very uncomfortable. Levy gasped and sat up, her face burning bright red.  
"I didn't- sorry- I thought you weren't coming back until-" she stammered, getting up and running over to the cd player, fumbling for the power button, very, _very _aware now of what she was and was not wearing. She faced him, her arms wrapped around her bare stomach. She wouldn't meet his eyes- she was _covered _in sweat, her hair hanging down in damp spirals, her loose, cropped tank sticking to her skin...  
Gajeel still hadn't said anything, so Levy's eyes fixed on what he was holding. He had plainly gone shopping on his way home- his arms were full of groceries, including a large carton of orange juice, which was leaking- drops of it were falling to the floor even as he stood there. Levy was trying to slow her breathing down, well aware that she sounded like an asthmatic vacuum. She followed the drips of orange juice to the floor, and frowned at the surprisingly large puddle on the floor.  
Gajeel's voice snapped her out of her daze; "Just make sure you clean up when you're done." he said, his voice somehow even gruffer than usual.  
"I will..." Levy called after him, still practically rooted to the spot from embarassment.

After she'd wiped the sweat off of the floor and equipment, she grabbed her cd and walked out, headed for the shower. She slipped suddenly and grabbed onto the nearest steel bar (copius amounts of which were sticking out from every wall, presumably Gajeel's homely touches) for support as her feet shot from under her. She steadied herself and stared once again at the large puddle of orange juice on the floor.

"But how..." she began, wondering how such a large puddle could have been formed from just a few drips, until she realized that Gajeel must have been standing there for longer than she thought. Judging by the size of the puddle... maybe even fifteen minutes. Levy dashed into the bathroom, her face burning, her palms clammy. There was embarassment, and then there was _this _soul-stabbing feeling of utter humiliation. Gajeel had been _watching_, watching everything she'd done... Levy pressed her shaking hands against her face and leant back against the wall. Splits... straddles... handstands... _pelvic thrusts_... he had possibly seen it all.  
"Oh my god..." Levy cried weakly, nearly falling into the shower, peeling her clothes off and unwrapping the tape on her feet before shoving the water on, keeping it cold. She moaned and let her head fall against the wall of the shower. She wanted to curl up and die. Either that or somehow knock Gajeel into last week to make him forget everything he'd seen. Impossible, of course, as she was the dandelion to Gajeel's battering ram, but if it were possible, she would gladly do it, just to make all this go away.  
She shook her head as she soaped her body down. Up until this moment, the most humiliating moment of her life had been when she'd tripped and shown her underwear to Gildartsby mistake. That was as nothing compared to this utter mortification. She washed her hair thouroughly, her embarassment not quite overpowering her dislike of sweaty hair. When she'd finished, she turned off the tap and shoved the curtain aside, reaching for a towel and drying herself down.  
"I can not _believe _he saw all that... holy fucking fuck..." she muttered darkly to herself. The air chilled her cold skin even further, and a breeze from the window blew unwelcome air over her bare skin. She shivered and wrapped the towel around her. "And my clothes are in my room. Great, just great." she groaned, picking up her discarded outfit and stalking towards the door.  
"..and then the splits... and my _ass_, I was _massaging my ass HOLY MOTHER__FUCK-_" her muttering, which had grown quite a bit louder, stopped suddenly as she swung the door open and came face-to-face with Gajeel, who once again seemed to be passing by at the worst possible time.

He swallowed, but said nothing.  
Levy stared at him.  
Seconds seemed to tick by.

Finally, Levy scooted around him and dashed back into Pantherlily's room, slamming the door behind her.

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	3. Chapter 3

**chapter three  
**

* * *

"Oh my god, Lucy, it was so embarassing, you have no idea..." Levy moaned, pressing her forehead against her cold ice tea.

Lucy patted her head comfortingly.  
"Well, look on the bright side! My plan is in progress!" she said brightly before taking a huge bite of her taco. Levy raised her head and gave a short laugh. "The irony is that I wasn't actually trying to put your plan into action... I started excercising when I was sure that Gajeel was out, and I didn't mean to forget my change of clothes before showering..."  
"Mere bagatelles, dear child." Lucy said, flapping her hand as she finished chewing. "The point is that you did it. What I find really interesting is the puddle of orange juice you mentioned." Levy moaned again, burying her face in her hands.  
"I _know, _to leave so much on the ground, he must have seen almost all of it!" Lucy grinned slyly and pointed at Levy.  
"_Exactly_. He must have seen almost all of it."  
"That's what I _said,_ it's so _embarassing-_"  
"Levy, you are looking at this the wrong way! Where you see utter humiliation, I see something much better." Levy raised her eyebrows in disbelief.  
"What good could you possibly see? He was watching! The whole time, practically!" Lucy smirked.  
"Yeah. That puddle was big enough to indicate that he'd been standing there for possibly fifteen minutes, maybe even twenty. Why would he stand there so long?" she asked. Levy blinked.  
"Well, I don't know... he usually doesn't pay attention to what I do-"  
"Exactly." Lucy said triumphantly. "Like I said, by exercising in something a little skimpier, and leaving the door open so he could see, you gave yourself an opportunity. I'll bet you anything that Gajeel was standing there for so long because he couldn't take his steely eyes off of you. And I'll bet he kept quiet so he could watch for as long as possible." Lucy explained smugly. Levy gaped at her.  
"But- but- but, that's crazy!" she cried, but even as she said it, she knew there was a possibility of Lucy being at least half-right... after all, Gajeel would have had no reason to stay there for that long, unless he was watching her. "He might have had a cramp in his leg and couldn't move..." she suggested weakly. Lucy gave a sarcastic laugh.  
"Right, because Gajeel just happened to get a leg cramp in the door way of the room you happened to be in, coincidentally dressed like a sex bomb, doing the splits. Coincidentally." Levy blushed.  
"Don't say it so loud." she begged, glancing around the little Taco bistro in case anybody they knew were there.  
"What, you don't want your sex-on-fire workout routine broadcast to the world?" Lucy teased, but in a lowered voice. "But what happened afterwards?" She asked, dipping her taquito in hotsauce and nibbling on the end.  
"If you keep eating such spicy food, you're going to end up like Natsu." Levy warned teasingly, avoiding the hand her friend sent swatting her way. "Well, I was really embarassed-"  
"I would never have guessed." Lucy interrupted drily.  
"Anyway," Levy continued with a sigh, "I rushed straight into the shower, and was basically banging my head against the wall for a while, but when I got out, I realized I'd forgotten to bring a change of clothes in with me, and I had to come out in a towel-"  
"Just like I said you should..." Lucy interrupted again, triumph shining in her eyes.  
"Yes, but it was an accident... and there he was! _Again_! Right outside!"  
"So let me guess, you stood there looking gorgeous, water dripping down below your towel, the cold air bringing pink to your cheeks, your hair tousled and wet... and he stood there with his jaw on the floor and his dick reaching for the ceiling?"  
"Lucy!" Levy hissed, shocked and blushing.  
"Kidding, kidding. But was I sort of right?"  
"Well, um... he was staring, and he didn't say anything... well, neither did I..."  
"You should have invited him into the shower with you!"  
"Lucy!" Levy gasped, swatting her friend's arm.  
"Oh, Levy, I'm just teasing. But he didn't say anything? Really? I guess he was just shocked... you sure hit him with a double-whammy, though." she said with a grin. "Did Pantherlily say anything when you chatted?" Levy popped a guacamole-laden chip into her mouth and chewed it thoughtfully.  
"Well, yes and no. I mean, Lily's such a serious sort of kitty, he'd never gossip or anything..."  
"Unlike Happy, that damn cat..." Lucy muttered with a grin.  
"Yeah, very unlike Happy. But he did say that I should have more confidence... what was it? That he values me more than I think, or something."  
"Typical Lily, huh? In other words, as I suspected, Gajeel's got the hots for you."  
"That is not what he said at all!" Levy insisted. Lucy laughed.  
"Think what you like, sweetie, think what you like. But we should come up with a plan for day number two... we have to keep him excited." she said, rubbing her nose thoughtfully.  
"Lucy, are you sure this is a good idea? If I keep doing all this sexy stuff or whatever, won't he realize I'm acting differently? I _never _do anything like this." Levy mumbled, looking around again nervously. Lucy shook her head.  
"Gajeel's as thick as a post- there's no danger of him catching on to what you're doing, at least not right away. You need to get him hooked! Worry about all the emotional stuff later. He's not going to bother with feelings until he realizes that you're a red-hot commodity!" she insisted, pointing her finger at Levy, who looked very unconvinced.

"In any case, let's lay out the plan..."

Levy let out a heavy sigh. She stood in the middle of Gajeel's kitchen, wearing a frilly apron (borrowed from Lucy) over a tight black mini dress (bought by Lucy) and thigh-high stockings (also bought by Lucy).  
The 'plan' was to cook a fabulous meal for Gajeel, to flirt with him over dessert, to flounce around in the apron, perhaps spill a little wine, and to seductivly wipe it up. From the get-go, Levy had spotted several major holes in the plan, namely that she couldn't cook to save her life, she'd never flirted with anyone before, and that leaning over someone to mop up a spill was only seductive if you had a big chest, a department in which Levy was definitely lacking. Levy slid off of the steel barstool she'd been glued to for the past fifteen minutes and glanced at the clock. Gajeel was due home in a half-hour. The chicken was in the oven, the potatoes were boiling, the soup was stewing, the dessert was chilling in the fridge, and the sauteed vegetables were sauteeing away. All was well.

Twenty-five minutes later, smoke was billowing from the oven, half of the soup was stuck to the bottom of the pan while the other have seemed to have curdled into a yellow brick, the dessert had fallen icing-side-out onto the floor, and most of the sauteed vegetables had been reduced to little more than bits of coal.  
Levy was near hysterics, opening windows and fanning out smoke, setting fire to oven gloves, stepping in chocolate frosting and burning herself on flying embers from what once was a beautiful appetizer.  
"Oh my god, oh my god, there is no way I'm going to be able to deal with this before Gajeel gets home..." she moaned, wiping her eyes and leaving a streak of chocolate over her cheek. Right on cue, she heard the front door open. Levy froze, feeling a very strong urge to hide. A few seconds later, Gajeel appeared in the kitchen doorway, frowning around at what plainly looked like a disaster zone.  
"What the f-" he muttered, stopping as his eyes fell on Levy. She bristled under his gaze, preparing herself for shouts and anger- or she tried to, anyways. He had only been looking at her for a few seconds before she burst into tears.  
"Hey, hey.." he said uncomfortably, his arms reaching up impulsively as if to hug her.  
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry..." she bawled, covering her face with her hands, feeling utterly ridiculous, but unable to stop herself. "I wanted to make you something nice, because you've been really kind, letting me stay and everything, even though I'm in your way all the time..." her words were slurred, barely intelligible as she sobbed through her hands, interrupted every few seconds by a shuddering breath.  
"You... you're not in my way..." Gajeel interjected, still very obviously uncomfortable with the situation- not that Levy, had she recovered her senses sooner, could blame him, considering the way there was a hysterical, crying chick standing in his kitchen with one foot in a dessert and smelling of curdled soup. Through her hands, she saw Gajeel's gaze leave the smoking oven and instead skim down her body, wrapped tightly in the black dress, the apron long since burnt and abandoned.  
_Great, _she thought glumly, still hysterical, _and the complete extent of my lack of curves is made known_.  
"But I suck at cooking, and I know I shouldn't have tried, but I just wanted..." her words were completely gone now as she just stood and sobbed. Gajeel's lip twitched in what could have been a split-second-smile, and he stepped towards her and patted her brusquely on the head. Levy hiccoughed, rubbing her eyes.  
"Cheer up, shortie. Go pick out a movie while I clean up in here." he said, gesturing with his thumb towards the living room. Levy nodded and fled the scene, wiping at her streaming face.

Once alone in the living room, she curled up on the floor, hugging a pillow to her tightly, trying to muffle any sound she made. She had completely blown it. Lucy's dinner of seduction had been replaced by burnt food and crocodile tears. Levy rubbed her damp face on the pillow and sighed out the last of her tears. At least Gajeel hadn't yelled at her, she thought, one side of her mouth tipping up a little. He hadn't even seemed angry.  
Thinking of Gajeel made her remember what she was supposed to be doing, and she put the pillow aside and crawled over to Gajeel's stack of dvds, eager to choose one. She had been very pleased to discover that they shared the same taste in movies. After browsing for a few minutes, she grabbed the first disc of Kill Bill, which she hadn't seen in ages, and popped it into the player. She picked up the pillow again and hugged it to her chest, now waiting nervously for Gajeel to reappear.  
She sort of really wanted a hug, but knew it would be ridiculous to ask. She might have asked Lily, had he been around, but she remembered him mentioning he was going to spend the evening with Charle and Happy. Levy sighed and settled down to wait.  
About ten minutes later, Gajeel reappeared, carrying two plates, piled with pizza slices. Levy sat up nervously. "I'm really sorry about-" she began, but stopped when Gajeel shook his head.  
"Don't worry about it." he said shortly, passing her one of the plates and sitting next to her on the floor. Levy looked away and smiled.

Half an hour later, both their plates were empty, and The Bride was on her way to start her roaring rampage of revenge. Levy was stretched out on her side, her head propped up on her hand, half-watching, half-dozing. Gajeel sat behind her, leaning back against the empty couch. Levy's heavy eyelids were just dropping down again when she felt something touch her hair softly. She turned her head, glancing at Gajeel in confusion. His hand ghosted over her hair again before he re-folded his arms.  
"Do you cut it like that? Or does it grow that way?" he asked after a brief silence and held gaze.  
"What?" Levy asked after a second.  
"Your hair. It's choppy." Gajeel pointed at the top of her head, where her hair was short and burst out from behind her hairband in wild twists, then dropped his hand down to point at the bottom of it, the long tendrils that bounced by her shoulders at the front and bobbed at the back of her neck. "Oh." Levy ran a self-conscious hand through it, tousling it a little.  
"I cut it shorter sometimes, and leave the longer bits at the front, but it actually grows unevenly anyways." she admitted a little ruefully, embarassed- she liked her hair and found it practical, but she also envied Mira, Erza, and Bisca for their long, smooth styles.  
"It's nice." Levy looked up again, but Gajeel's gaze was once again fixed on the screen.  
She supposed she'd been hearing things, and likewise concentrated again on the movie.

The next thing she was aware of was how cold her feet felt. She blinked back into consciousness, tried to turn over, and found herself pinned down. Suddenly very awake, and a little scared, she looked around slowly, trying to adjust her eyes to the darkness. A familiar shape next to her calmed her down, and she quickly realized that she was perfectly safe. She realized that she must have fallen asleep on top of Gajeel, thus preventing him from going to bed without waking her up. The thought that he'd been considerate enough to worry about waking her up was startling enough, but what surprised her even more was the heavy, muscular arm that was slung around her waist.  
She raised her head slightly and realized that it -and most of her body- was resting on Gajeel's chest. She shut her eyes and relaxed for a minute, smiling as she listened to his steady hearbeat, his slow breathing calming her down. She snapped her eyes open again after realizing that she might be taken for a pervert, and tried to figure out a way to slip away without waking him- after all, it would be horribly awkward to wake up together... as nice as that sounded. Levy told herself to get a grip, but blushed nonetheless.  
She began to scoot slowly down Gajeel's body, trying to slide unnoticed out from under his arm. It had seemed easy enough when she'd started, but she was scooting down on her back, and after a few minutes, Gajeel's hand was right on top of her chest. She lay still and took a deep breath. If he woke up now, she would never live this down. Steeling herself, Levy planted her feet firmly on the floor and slid her body down towards them, biting down painfully hard on her lip as Gajeel's hand ghosted over her breasts, then softly over her collarbones and neck. She turned her face away on the last scoot, letting his hand pet her hair as she escaped from his grip.

She felt triumphant, but also cold as she stood up, stretching her complaining, stiff limbs. She tiptoed away, headed for the linen closet to fetch Gajeel a blanket -after all, he might catch cold lying on the floor alone- but by the time she'd returned, as silently as she could, he'd gone. She cocked her head to the side, confused- he had seemed fast asleep only a few minutes earlier- but ultimately tiredness won her over, and she stumbled into Pantherlily's room, flopping gratefully down onto her mattress, snuggling into the blankets, smiling into her pillow when she realized she could smell Gajeel on herself.

"He's a nice guy.." she murmured just before falling back asleep.

* * *

**/**


	4. Chapter 4

**chapter four**

* * *

"Lucy, I'm tired!" Levy yawned loudly, proving her point.

"That's why we're getting coffee!" Lucy said brightly.  
"You're way too chipper for 7:00 am." Levy said darkly.  
After waking up so late last night, or rather, early this morning, Levy felt like a zombie, and while she loved hanging out with her best friend, she would have much preferred meeting for brunch than meeting for breakfast. Frost was still clinging to the grass and the pinkish light of dawn was still hanging in the sky as  
they trudged (well, Lucy walked normally) together to the nearest cafe on their way to the guild.

"I really don't see why you needed to literally _drag _me out of bed... It's not like I'm going anywhere..." Levy grumbled into her mittens, which she then rubbed against her pink cheeks. Lucy scoffed, the white puffs of her breath hanging in the air for a minute before dissipating.  
"That's the _point_. I got you up so we could grab coffee and snag a table at the guild before anybody else turns up! Today is stage 3 in the ultimate plan! I've got a great idea to put into play." Lucy said excitedly, steering Levi into Fairy Cakes. Levi sighed, gratefully inhaling the smell of roasted coffee beans and warm pastry.  
"Sounds fabulous, Lucy." she yawned again, coughing in surprise when Lucy shoved a muffin into her mouth.  
"Don't think I've forgotten- I'm totally going to grill you on last night over breakfast." she warned with a wide grin. Levy rolled her eyes and paid for the muffin and a large black coffee.

"...and so, ultimately, nothing happened." Levy finished, taking a grateful swig of coffee after recounting the events, or rather non-events, of the night before. To her surprise, Lucy snorted.  
"'Nothing happened'... honestly. Sometimes, Levy, I wonder how you can be so smart, and so stupid at the same time. No offence," she said belatedly, holding her hands up. Levy rolled her eyes and pinched off some more muffin, chewing slowly. "First and foremost: Gajeel did _not _get angry that you ruined his kitchen. He didn't even say anything about it. Correct?"  
"Correct." Levy said with her mouth full.  
"Secondly, he comforted you, at least vaguely."  
"I guess... he called me 'shortie', though." Levy grumbled.  
"That's probably his idea of a romantic pet name." Lucy said with a wry grin. "Thirdly, he made you dinner. Fourthly, he sat next to you on the floor instead of the couch. Fifthly, he stroked your hair, sixthly, he complemented it, and seventhly, he let you fall asleep on him, and didn't even wake you up." Lucy finished with a deep breath. "Honestly, Lev, I'd say those look like good signs." Levy shook her head.  
"Well, even if you say it was because he cared, and not because he was indulging me because I was upset-"  
"Levy, you must be crazy if you think Gajeel would ever indulge anybody just because they were upset." Lucy interrupted, completely deadpan.  
"Er... well, either way, you still haven't said anything about the way he suddenly disappeared after I left him in the living room!" Levy pointed out, grasping at straws in a ridiculous attempt to stump her friend's overeager imagination. Lucy shrugged with a smirk.  
"I'd say he was awake the whole time, and was just pretending to be asleep. Maybe you woke him up, but he thought it would be awkward if you knew. Or maybe he just wanted to cop a feel. Who knows, but I'm sure he didn't expect you to come back with a blanket for him, which means..." Lucy's eyes narrowed as she licked icing thoughtfully off of her cinnamon bun.  
"Which means," she repeated slowly, the gears apparently turning in her head. "that he doesn't know that you feel for him. Possibly," she continued, a broad grin beginning to spread on her face, which Levy took to mean that trouble was definitely brewing, "he's thinking the situation is reversed! Maybe he's got a crush on you, and doesn't realize that you feel the same way! Oh, you guys..." Lucy sighed, beaming, twirling her blonde hair through her fingers. "You two are so ridiculously cute! Your love must have a magical effect on people, Lev, because I never thought I'd say that _Gajeel _was in any way cute." she said with an eye-roll. "Hey!" Levy said, suddenly defensive, and feeling ridiculous for it.  
"He's not always mean and scary! He's been really nice to me.." she trailed off as she watched Lucy's smile grow, if possible, even wider.  
"Levy, you are so _cute_!" she squealed, reaching across the table and grabbing her friend in a hug. A Lucy-hug. Which basically involved squashing Levy's face into her boobs.

"Lucy, I hope you don't hug Natsu and Gray like this.." Levy said, her voice muffled by Lucy's chest.  
"Well, yeah, why?" she asked, letting go and blinking in surprise.  
"Nevermind..." Levy said, looking out the window with a small smirk on her face.

"So, dare I ask, what's the plan for today, O cunning one?" Levy asked as they walked, arm in arm, through the guild doors and towards one of the empty tables.  
Only a few people were there; Mirajane and Cana were wiping dishcloths over some glasses, chatting comfortably, and Natsu and Elfman were having an arm-wrestling match over in a corner while Lisanna watched. Natsu called out to Lucy, but she told him she was busy, and hauled Levi onto a barstool, then hopped onto its neighbour, looking at her excitedly.  
"The plan for today, Levi, is to shake things up. You and Gajeel had a nice, cozy evening last night, so what we're going to do today is get the romance going outside as well."  
"What do you mean, 'outside'?" Levy asked, wrinkling her nose. Lucy grinned.  
"Last night, I made invites for a pool party. We're all going swimming this afternoon at 3:00, and this morning, you and I are going to make sure you look like a goddess of sex in the pool. Now," Lucy continued, steamrollering Levy's objections into the ground, "your job is to make sure Gajeel goes -beg him or something, everyone knows you're his weak spot- and then to leave the pool with him, and either go for a romantic walk, or go out for dinner." Lucy folded her arms and beamed proudly. "This time, we're going to knock him dead." Levy wasn't quite as convinced.  
"Lucy, I'm not trying to criticize, but a lot of your plans seem to be based on dressing me in something sexy."  
"And?" Lucy asked. Levy rolled her eyes and propped her chin up on her hands.  
"I think we've gone over this, but in terms of boob size, I might as well be a cutting board." she grumbled. Lucy shook her head, but seemed embarassed nonetheless.  
"You're not the only one, Levy! Wendy's got a small chest as well-"  
"Wendy is a _child_!" Levy cried, scowling at her friend before sighing. "The point is that with all of these e- and f-cup babes bouncing around, it's ridiculous enough to think that Gajeel might find me sexy _alone_. If everyone's there in the pool, with all their tits flying around, he won't even be paying attention to me." Levy reasoned, a little sulkily. Lucy still looked embarassed as she tousled her friend's bed-head hair comfortingly.  
"Levy, we've been to pool parties or beach training sessions loads of times. Have you ever seen Gajeel staring at everybody else's chests instead of talking to you?" she asked. Levy thought back for a second or two with a frown.  
"No..." Lucy nodded.  
"And has he ever _once _said anything to you, teasing or serious, about the size of your chest?" Levy scoffed.  
"He wouldn't do that!" she protested. Lucy laughed.  
"Levy, be honest. He calls you 'shrimp', 'midget', 'pint-size', and 'shortie' every chance he gets. Do you really think he's holding off on your chest because he's too polite?" she asked, one eyebrow raised, smirking. Levy sighed.  
"Well, I guess not." Lucy nodded.  
"I personally think he's got a thing for tight, little bodies like yours. Which is why we're going to exploit that today." she said, tipping back the remains of her coffee and standing up, pulling Levy up too.  
"Lucy, where are we-"  
"To the swim shop! I know for a fact your current swimsuit is a tankini, but that just isn't going to cut it. Let's go!" Lucy said, eagerly dragging her friend behind her as they left the guild.

"I'm not so sure about this anymore..." Levy mumbled as she let herself into Gajeel's apartment, her arms weighed down with bags of 'Lucy supplies' as her best friend had dubbed them. She put them down in Lily's room and finally (it was now eleven am) got dressed properly.

She brushed out her hair, easing out various knots at the back, and pulled it back with a black, lacy headband. She brushed her teeth again, tugged off the sweatpants and tanktop she'd been wearing while out with Lucy, and changed into a light blue beachdress. She washed her face and reapplied her mascara and chapstick, stretched and yawned, and then went to find Gajeel.

Neither he nor Pantherlily were in the house, so Levy assumed they were out training. She was proved right after a pleasant walk down to their usual place, and found them locked in fierce hand-to-hand combat. She squinted in the sun, which was shining brightly after the frosty morning, and smiled. She sat down on the nearby grassy hillside and watched them for a bit, partly because she didn't like to interrupt, and partly because she liked watching Gajeel fight. She was always worried in case he got hurt, of course, but the raw power of his movement, even when not using Slayer magic, awed her.  
She had once wanted to train with him, but quickly realized that she would hold him back- there was no way she could be a good sparring partner for someone like him. Jet and Droy would at least go easy on her; she wasn't entirely convinced that Gajeel would immediately see the need.

A few minutes later, Gajeel and Pantherlily took a break, so Levy stood up and trotted towards them. Lucy had seemed confident that Levy coul easily convince Gajeel to come swimming; Levy herself was not quite so sure. He often joined the guild in pool parties if they were away from home, considering the alternative would be to lurk alone in the hotel, but he might say he had better things to do.  
"Levy?" She looked up and waved, jogging to cover the last bit of distance faster.  
"Hi Lily!" she greeted the transformed cat, noticing with a stab of irritation that in this form, she only came up to his chest, if that. "Good morning!" she said, smiling at Gajeel, who grunted and pulled off his shirt, tossing it away and stretching. Levy eyed his hard, sweaty chest and gorgeous arms surruptitiously, blushing.  
"What's up?" Gajeel asked at length.  
"Oh!" Levy said, embarassed that she'd forgotten why she'd come down. "Did you get an invitation to the pool party?" she asked, linking her hands behind her back and smiling. Gajeel scratched the back of his head.  
"I don't check the mail much... why?"  
"Well, Lucy's organizing it, and everybody's going, and I was wondering if you were coming? We could go together..." she trailed off, scuffing her foot, inwardly cringing. Way to be subtle, Levy, way to go... Gajeel looked down at her for a few moments, his expression unreadable.  
"I guess it would be good to cool off." he grumbled at last, glancing at Lily, who nodded.  
"Great! I'm glad you're coming!" Levy said happily, shielding her eyes and tilting her head back to see them. "Ugh, you guys are so tall..." she muttered. Gajeel laughed and tousled her hair.  
"You could always try growing, short stuff." he said with a smirk as Levy batted his hand away.  
"Hey!" Levy sighed and patted her hair down again.  
"I'll see you guys later. The party's at three, so please be back before then!" she said, waving before running off again, finally excited for Lucy's plan to be put into action.

* * *

**/**


	5. Chapter 5

**chapter five**

* * *

"I can't believe I let her talk me into buying this." Levy groaned, standing in front of the full-length mirror in her new suimsuit.

If you could call it a swimsuit. As far as Levy was concerned, she might as well be wearing string. The bikini was tiny.  
The halter top tied up with a string at her neck and upper back, her breasts covered only by two curved triangles of fabric, solid black except for the electric blue stripe crossing both. The bottom half was no better, tied at the sides with string, showing a shockingly large amount of her hips before widening into a scrap of black fabric that _barely_ -Levy cringed as she turned and checked in the mirror- covered her butt. As in, her cheeks were definitely visible.

"Oh my god, Jet and Droy..." she moaned in horror, covering her face. How had she not understood that they would be there, too? They were teammates, yes, but it would be so humiliating... "I can't wear this." Levy decided, and was just searching for her usual orange tankini when she remembered that Lucy had dropped by and seized it earlier that morning, for this exact reason. "Damn you..." Levy gritted her teeth and sighed again, squinting at herself in the mirror. She didn't look _bad_, she just looked... scrawny. And flat. "This would look so much better on Erza." she sighed, frowning down at her small breasts.

It wasn't like she didn't have any -there were definite curves of pale flesh being hugged by the bikini- they were just quite small to begin with, and in comparison to basically every other mature female in Fairy Tail... she was definitely more cutting board than bouncy castle. "Aw, jeez." she grumbled, digging around in the rest of the shopping bags for the new clothes Lucy had dubbed her 'va-voom duds'. She pulled out the sparkly red tank top and sighed, remembering how tight it was. Lucy had reasoned that there was no point hiding how skinny she was, because loose clothing just made her look larger.  
"We have to emphasize your assets, Lev. You may not believe me, but you definitely have some. Show off those gorgeous shoulders! Make him drool over that toned torso! And _definitely_ make all that yummy junk in your trunk noticable." she had said, shoving a pair of striped booty shorts into her arms. Over two hours later, Levy was still unconvinced. She put all the new clothes back in their bags and shoved them under her bed, then slung on one of her usual t-shirts and baggy shorts over her swimsuit.  
"Sorry, Lucy." she murmured wryly, well aware that her friend would be pouting when they met at the pool. She just didn't feel comfortable in all that tight stuff. After a moment's hesitation, however, she shoved a few of the new clothes into her bag, just in case.

Half an hour later, Gajeel, Lily, and Levy walked together to the pool. Levy was on edge the whole way there, panicking slightly as she imagined what Jet and Droy would say... and how ridiculous she'd look in comparison to all the other girls.  
"Are you nervous, Levy?" Pantherlily asked her, and when Levy looked up at him, she caught Gajeel glancing at her, too. "I thought you were excited about this party." the cat continued, flying lower down to see her better. Levy nodded and forced a smile onto her face.  
"Yes! Yes, I'm really excited! I haven't seen everybody in a while, since they've been out on jobs so much..." she said. At least it was the truth.

A few minutes later, they entered the pool, paid, and parted ways, Lily and Gajeel heading for the guys' locker room, Levy disappearing into the girls'. Seconds after stepping through the door, she was grabbed from the left and pressed tightly against a huge pair of breasts.  
"Lucy?" Levy guessed, her voice muffled.  
"Levy! Way to go, way to go! I wish I'd thought of it myself!" her friend squealed, releasing her and clapping her hands together.  
"Thought of what? Cute swimsuit, by the way!" Levy grinned, looking down at Lucy's floral bikini.  
"You like it? Look, it matches my pigtails!" she said, pointing proudly at the flower-adorned elastics holding her blonde hair up.  
"Very nice. But what are you talking about?" she asked as they walked together towards the lockers.  
"Your outfit!" Lucy pointed.  
"But... it's just my regular stuff..." Levy said, confused, as she shoved her bag into the locker and slipped off her shoes.  
"Exactly! Gajeel won't know what hit him! By looking normal on the way here, he'll be even more surprised by your bikini! You're going to slap him silly!" Lucy chortled as Levy tugged off her t-shirt and shorts, wrapping her arms around her chest bashfully. "Levy, don't be silly, you've got nothing to hide from me." Lucy tutted as Levy clicked the lock and they began to walk towards the pool exit.  
"That's the point, I've got _nothing_ to hide." Levy muttered, but lowered her arms anyways and waved at the others in the changeroom.  
"Come on, Levy... this is it!" Lucy said excitedly as they entered the pool area.

It was full of Fairy Tail members, all swimming and laughing and splashing and screaming.  
"Everybody's having a good time..." Levy murmured, a smile spreading on her face in spite of her nervousness.  
"Exactly. If it makes it easier, just forget about Gajeel and the plan, and come have fun!" Lucy said, offering her friend a warm smile and linking their arms. "Come on, let's hit the water!"  
"Uh-huh!" Levy said excitedly, and ran into the pool with Lucy. Natsu and Erza started a game of water-basketball, and they joined in, laughing and splashing around until Juvia got in and joined with the water, flooding the pool momentarily.  
"Waterslides, waterslides!" Levy cheered, pulling Lucy and Cana with her, running up the spiral staircase to the huge slides above.  
"Awesome!" Cana cheered, tipping back her can of beer.  
"Is that even allowed in the pool?" Lucy teased, earning herself a shove. As soon as they reached the top, Levy rushed in line for the steepest one with a happy squeal.  
"This is so fun!" she cheered, waving at Lucy, who was in line for the one next to her. A few minutes later, Levy pushed off, whizzing down the slide, screaming with delight as she sped down the twisting, turning slide. She splashed into the water at the bottom, laughing as Lucy did the same with a shriek.  
"Oh my god, that was the best!" Levy cheered.  
"Levy!" She could have sworn her heart stopped.

"Jet? Droy!?" she cried, whirling around to find her teammates swimming towards her at lightning speed.  
"Levy, you're wearing such a small swimsuit!" Jet exclaimed, holding his bleeding nose.  
"Did you hurt yourself?" she asked in surprise.  
"Don't worry, Levy! We'll protect your beautiful body! No-one will get near!" Droy promised, spreading his arms around her defensively.  
"You... you kind of sound like Taurus." Lucy said, her eye twitching. Levy turned to her friend.  
"Lucy! Help!" she whispered as Jet and Droy continued to fuss over her, glaring at Elfman and Laxus as they passed by. Lucy grinned, but came to her friend's rescue. She grabbed her keys, which hung from her bikini bottom, and opened the gate of Aquarius.  
"That's a little overkill, don't you think?" Levy shrieked, clinging to the bottom of the waterslide as what felt like a tsunami washed over her, sending Jet and Droy spiralling off to the deep end of the pool as Aquarius huffily went off to hang out with Juvia.  
"It worked, didn't it?" Lucy said, but she, too, seemed to think it had been a bad idea, as she felt her wet hair with a sigh. Both of them perked up when they heard a cry of "Chicken fight!" from down in the wave pool.  
"Awesome!" Lucy cheered, and the two of them followed Cana as she rushed back down to join the group.

"Come on, Lucy!" Natsu said with a grin, pulling the blonde towards him.  
"Yeah, let's kick their asses!" Lucy cheered, climbing up onto Natsu's shoulders and giving Evergreen and Elfman a challenging smile.  
"I'd like to see you try." Ever smirked, and the fight was on. All around them, everyone was pairing up and clambering onto each other. Levy laughed and clapped as Erza and Mirajane wiped out team after team. Juvia and Gray paired up and cheated, by having Juvia merge her body with the water, so she was impossible to tip over.  
"Levy, Levy, pair up with me!"  
"No, me!" Levy turned to find Jet and Droy, back again, battling it out a few feet away. She sighed, and looked around hopefully for Gajeel, thinking that she hadn't seen him since they entered the pool.  
"You're too fat, Droy, she'd slide right off you." Jet growled, his teeth gritted as Droy's fist collided with his cheek.  
"Fat? What are you talking about? She's always liked me better, anyway, Jet!" Droy insisted, fending off Jet's kick to his head.  
"Come on, you guys, don't fight, it's not a big deal!" Levy cried, wading towards them to break it up. Jet glanced her way, then suddenly gasped, leaping towards her.  
"Levy, look out!" he cried. She turned her head, surprised, and hew jaw dropped when she saw Gray, finally pushed off of Juvia's immense water-body, falling straight down, right above her. She had barely started to scream when she was grabbed around the waist, swung out of the way, then up onto Gajeel's right shoulder.  
"Gajeel!" she exclaimed, looking down at him, ignoring Gray's shout and the ensuing spash as he landed right where she'd been standing. The shock had passed, and now she was just embarassed, remembering her bikini, and feeling very tingly where his hand was gripping her thigh, holding her in place.  
"Let's show these assholes what the meaning of pain is." Gajeel said with a pointy grin, and Levy laughed.  
"Right!" she cheered, and placed one hand firmly on Gajeel's shoulders.  
"Hold still." she instructed, well aware of Jet and Droy's groans and gasps of disappointment, now that she was pairing up with Gajeel instead.  
"Got it." Gajeel said, and froze in place. Levy gripped his shoulders tightly, raised herself off of his right shoulder, swung her legs up and around, then straight over each shoulder, settling herself behind his neck.  
"Ready?" he asked, taking hold of her ankles.  
"Ready!" she agreed, placing her hands on his head.  
"Come and get it, motherfuckers!" Gajeel roared, launching them into the melee.

Levy laughed as they took on Alzack and Bisca, and Gajeel easily tipped the married couple backwards into the water, then began to face off against Lucy and Natsu. As the guys traded insults down below, Lucy and Levy grappled up top. Levy was trying to concentrate, and knew that she could send Lucy into the water easily- she wasn't all that much lighter than Natsu, so he was less steady when she moved than Gajeel was- but kept being startled by Gajeel's movements underneath her, the way she was gripping him with her thighs, the way her butt flexed and dragged over his shoulders when she twisted, the way his fingers would brush her ankles when he used her feet to kick Natsu in the face.  
"Distracted?" Lucy teased, leaning forwards to try and overpower her.  
"Shut up, Lucy!" Levy hissed, hoping to god she wasn't blushing. Suddenly, Lucy's expression turned into a wicked grin, and she raised their interlocked hands above their heads, and tugged backwards, making Levy's back arch and making her press harder against Gajeel. She cried out, but turned her head and muffled the sound in her arm just in time. Below her, she heard Gajeel groan as Natsu connected a hit to his chest.  
"Lucy!" Levy gasped, shocked. Lucy giggled, covering her mouth with her hands. With a grin, Levy's hands shot out and shoved Lucy hard. Her friend shrieked loudly, losing her balance, her legs clutching at Natsu, and they both toppled backwards into the water. "Gotcha!" Levy cheered, laughing as Lucy emerged from the water, spluttering.  
"Nice one." Gajeel said from beneath her. They then took on Jet and Droy, who had paired up specifically in order to seperate Levy from Gajeel, but they were quickly sent flying by a shove from Gajeel, who didn't even look at them.  
They swiftly took out every other pair still standing, until it was just them and Erza and Mirajane left standing. Everyone else was standing in a circle, watching and cheering. Levy was nervous, twisting around, trying to somehow get her swimsuit to cover her butt properly, well aware that Jet and Droy, standing behind her, were getting a better view than she was comfortable with.  
"Stop squirming and concentrate. Do you want to kick their butts, or what?" Gajeel said, drumming his fingers on her ankles.  
"Right." she said, patting his head.  
She looked their opponents up and down. She'd been watching them for a while, analyzing their weak points- there weren't many, but since Erza and Mira rarely went on jobs together, their teamwork wasn't as smooth as it could be. They often attacked the same target instead of spreading out their blows, and Erza, who was on the bottom, would sometimes stumble in the water if Mira leant back.  
"Come on, Gajeel. You gonna get your ass kicked by girls?" Erza jeered, tightening the strings of her swimsuit. Gajeel snorted and walked towards them.  
"Of course not. Levy and I are gonna rip you apart." he replied, cracking his knuckles. All around them, the Fairy Tail members were shouting out bets and cat-calling.  
"Here we come!" Mira said happily as she activated Satan Soul, her face and body changing as Erza charged towards them.  
"Take her down, Levy! Do your stretches!" Lucy called from the crowd, and Levy bit her lip nervously as Mira's transformed arm swung back, prepared to strike, and Gajeel moved suddenly below her, dodging a strike from Erza.  
Just the _thought_ of going up against Mirajane, even if it was all for fun, terrified her. But Lucy's cheer had given her an idea, and as Mira's arm shot forwards to shove her off, Levy exhaled hard and relaxed her torso completely, letting her body slip back, hanging straight down, only her legs holding her up.  
"Gajeel!" she shouted as Mira's arm went straight over her, and he grabbed her arms when she reached for him, holding herself up with his iron grip. As fast as she could, aiming for the pace she hit when training, Levy kicked out her her feet rapidly, making contact time after time.  
A shriek and a splash told her that Mira had lost her balance. Around them, all the other guild members began to cheer, and Cana and Macao drank to the winners. Levy raised herself back up, panting, and looked down to see Gajeel grinning up at her.  
"That was over in like, five seconds!" she said, beaming and raising her arms in triumph.  
"I can't believe it!"  
"Levy, you were amazing! You kicked Mira's butt!" Lucy shrieked, swimming over and jumping up and down, clapping her hands before hurrying over to pat Mira's shoulder.  
"I have to say, I'm impressed." Erza said, coming over and patting Levy's foot. "I didn't expact that- and Mirajane sure didn't. Gajeel certainly made sure I was concentrating on him, not on getting Mira out of the way. You two make a good team." she said, tightening her long ponytail and smiling in approval and Gajeel, who shrugged, bumping Levy into the air.  
"Hey!" she said, smacking his head. He laughed, but stopped suddenly when Jet and Droy appeared, congratulating Levy.  
"Hey guys! Did you see me?" Levy asked excitedly- it certainly wasn't every day she beat someone in a fight, and she was going to enjoy this moment as long as it lasted.  
"Of course! We couldn't take our eyes off of you!" Droy said with a wide smile.  
"You were amazing! Nothing less for Levy of Shadow Gear!" Jet agreed. Levy beamed down at them.  
"You guys are always so supportive, I love you! Hey, do you want to go get ice cream together tomorr-ack!" Levy squealed as Gajeel suddenly turned and walked away, going deeper into the pool.  
"Hey, hey, hey, I'm talking here!" Levy said, smacking him on the head and twisting around. "So, tomorrow, ice-cream, I'll call you!" she yelled, waving her arms at Jet and Droy, now left in Gajeel's dust. "Well that was rude!" she complained.  
"So?" Levy frowned down at Gajeel.  
"So, it's not nice to be rude."  
"Who ever said I had to be nice, Miss Redundancy?" he countered. Levy's pout quickly turned into an unwilling smile- she was sure he was grinning.  
"Well, nobody. But I don't get why you're nice to me, but not everybody else." Levy said, drumming lightly on his head as they continued deeper into the pool, Gajeel now up to his chest.  
"There's an exeption to every rule." Gajeel muttered, and Levy sighed, leaning back and looking up at the ceiling, which was completely made of windows. "Look up there! Look at the sky..." she said, pointing at the pink-tinged clouds above. Gajeel tilted his head back and Levy squeaked when she slipped backwards as well.  
"Careful." he said, grabbing her feet quickly. She pulled herself back up, laughing.  
"Thanks." she said, swinging her feet back and forth and smiling at the ceiling again. They were quiet for a few moments, Levy gently running her fingers through his damp hair, he watching the Exceeds dive-bombing Gray and Natsu on the waterslides.  
"Are you going to put me down sometime?" Levy asked at length, realizing with a wave of embarassment that they were the only chicken-fight partners still in position. Gajeel smirked up at her.  
"Oh, I don't know, shrimp. I kind of thought you'd like the change, being so tall now and everything." Levy rolled her eyes and told him to shut up. "Fine, fine, I'll put you down." Gajeel agreed, and bent down, allowing Levy to slip off of him into the water.  
"Thank yo-" Levy sank down, finding only water where she expected tiled floor. She was too suprised to tread water for a second, simply sinking like a stone until Gajeel's hands grabbed her waist and lifted her up out of the water.  
"Do you even know how to swim?" he asked with a frown.  
"Of course I do!" Levy said irritably, coughing and pushing her wet hair out of her face. "It's just that you're so ridiculously tall, you've walked us all they way out into the deep end! I can only touch the ground over there!" Levy said, almost yelling as she pointed back to the shallow end of the pool. Gajeel tilted his head to the side and smirked.  
"Oh, I see. You're so _short_, you can't reach the floor." Levy scowled.  
"You can put me down, you know." she said, folding her arms, nodding at Gajeel's hands, which were still raising her up out of the water.  
"I don't think so, you might drown." he teased, walking back the way they'd come. He hoisted Levy up higher and bent her over his shoulder, apparently oblivious to her shrill protestations.  
"No, no, no, put me down, put me down, this swimsuit doesn't cover my butt-" she hissed in panic before realizing what she was saying and shutting up.  
"Not my fault you're hardly wearing anything." Gajeel said snarkily, apparently having heard her, but he put her down a second later, now back in the shallower water.  
"Thank you." Levy said stiffly, but broke into a smile despite herself.  
"Anytime, shortie." Gajeel said with a shrug, and walked off and joined Juvia in conversation.

Levy watched him for a few seconds before grabbing an innertube and paddling off to find Lucy.

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**/**


	6. Chapter 6

**chapter six**

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Thanks so much for the subscriptions and favourites, guys :)

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"So, did you two have a nice chat?" Lucy asked, reclining happily in her innertube.

Levy shrugged nonchalantly, but her grin gave her away. "You did! Yay!" Lucy cheered, clapping her hands together.  
"Well, it wasn't a very serious talk... actually, he was just talking about how short I am..." Levy realized with a frown.  
"Do you like it when he teases you?" Lucy asked in surprise, propping herself up on her elbows to see her friend's reaction.  
"Of course not." Levy sniffed, but bit down on a smile she couldn't stop. Lucy grinned slyly at her.  
"I saw how you sat on his shoulders for ages after you won the chickenfight... felt good to be touching him?" she guessed with a suggestive wiggle of her eyebrows. Levy splashed her, laughing.  
"He wouldn't let me down at first, silly! He said it must be a nice change to be tall, or something." she said with a roll of her eyes.  
"Naughty." Lucy tutted.  
"By the way, Lucy... I'm surprised you summoned Loke here." Levy commented, finally bringing up the person who had been floating next to them the whole time. Loke winked at her, his arms folded over his floating paddleboard. Lucy's eye twitched, but a smile was tickling her cheeks.  
"I didn't. He came here by himself, for some reason."  
"I wonder why. Maybe because I wanted to join in on the fun. Or maybe because I'd hate to miss an opportunity to protect my mistress." he said, in his sweet, casual voice.  
"More like you'd hate to miss an opportunity to see her in a bikini." Levy teased the spirit.  
"Would I do something as vulgar as that?" he asked innocently, and Lucy hid her grin with her hand.  
"What's that noise?" Levy asked, blinking and looking over her shoulder, seeing water flying everywhere.  
"Natsu and Gray are fighting. Again." Loke said, and Lucy rolled her eyes.  
"I mean, I get the whole fire and ice thing, but they sure pick inconvenient times to brawl." she sighed.  
"Take that!" Gray roared from behind them, and they turned around to see Natsu rolling over the water at high speed, barelling towards them.  
"Grab onto something, Natsu, before you hit the wall!" Lucy shrieked, pointing at the side of the pool, just feet away.

Loke put himself between Lucy and the oncoming Natsu. Levy covered her face as he came shooting towards them, looking quite ill as he span head over heels, splashing everyone he passed. He crashed into them, and Levy squealed as she felt his arm slam into her, and then he was flipping through the air and slamming into the wall. Levy wiped the hair from her face and treaded water, having been knocked out of her innertube. She stared at Natsu, groaning on the wall, and gasped when she saw a bikini top -_her _bikini top- in his hand. She immediately grabbed Lucy from behind, pressing against her before she could be seen.  
"When I said grab something, that was _not _what I meant, you moron!" Lucy was roaring at Natsu. All around them, people were laughing and muttering to each other, wondering who the top belonged to.  
"Oh my god, Lucy, what do I do?" Levy moaned, pressing her head against Lucy's back, completely mortified.  
"Don't worry. I'll get your top back, but for the moment..." Lucy scanned the pool area, looking for a place for her friend to hide.  
"Loke, can you take Levy to the steam room? You can hide in the steam until I come give your top back. Better go quickly, while people are still stuck in the aftermath." she said, nodding at her friends before paddling towards Natsu, who had recovered and was charging back towards Gray, oblivious of the swimsuit top that was now hanging out the back of his trunks.  
"Climb on my back. I'll piggy-back you there." Loke said, patting Levy on the shoulder.  
"'Kay." she murmured, holding his shoudlers as he grabbed her legs. She pressed against his back, resting her cheek on his shoulder, and trying to pretend that none of this was happening- that her bare chest was not pressed up against the back of a person she hardly knew, that her swimsuit top was not in the hands of an ignoramus, etc.  
"Don't worry, we're almost there." Loke said cheerfully, now wading through the shallow end.  
"Uh-huh." Levy said, taking a deep breath to calm herself- it didn't work, but she felt better for the effort.  
"I'm glad Lucy's got a friend like you. Lets her be herself for a while, just a normal girl instead of a celestial spirit mage all the time." Loke said. Levy blinked in surprise.  
"But I'm from the guild too, so-"  
"But you're not on the same team as her. When she hangs out with Erza, for example, she often ends up worried and tense, talking about danger or their jobs. She seems so relaxed with you... it's good to see her like this." he said, and Levy smiled at the warmth in his voice.  
"I know I don't know you all that well, Loke... and I see you even less now that you're Lucy's celestial spirit... but just so you know," Levy said, closing her eyes and imagining Lucy's face if she knew what she was about to say, "I've always thought that Lucy would be happiest with you." she said, and she wondered if Loke was smiling.  
"Okay, here we are." he said after a few seconds, and he pushed open the door to the steam room. Levy coughed, blinking rapidly, but she still couldn't see more than a foot in front of her. "Ok, just wait for Lucy in here." Loke said, putting her down.  
Levy pressed her arms against her chest and waved as he left, then clambered up into the corner to wait. She looked carefully on either side of her, but couldn't make out anybody sitting near her. She was safe, for the moment.

A few seconds later, when Gajeel and Juvia resumed their conversation, Levy realized that she was not, as she had hoped, completely alone in the steam room; the pair were sitting in the opposite corner, blocked from view by the thick steam, but certainly present.  
"Don't you get bored of talking about Gray all the time?" Gajeel said, his tone bored.  
"Never. It's impossible. Juvia is meant to be with Gray-sama forever- boredom is impossible." Juvia replied passionately.  
"Whatever... why is he so important to you, anyway? I don't care, but you were never this crazy about anybody before you came to Fairy Tail." Gajeel pointed out. Juvia sighed.  
"Juvia's life was miserable and lonely and cold, full of endless rain... until Gray-sama stopped it. In our fight... he touched me..." Juvia's voice grew thick with emotion and Levy grinned, imagining her pressing a hand to her chest, the other draped over her forehead.  
"You mean he groped you. Damn that guy... stripping naked every two seconds, grabbing your chest the next..." Gajeel said, and Levy imagined him shaking his head and grinning.  
"Juvia hopes, for your sake, that you're not insulting the love of her life..."  
"...Right."  
"Juvia is glad... that our lives have gotten so much warmer since joining Fairy Tail..."  
"Warmer?"  
"Friends. People who care about us. We're not alone anymore." Juvia said softly. Levy felt awkward, listening in on their private conversation, but there really wasn't much she could do to block them out. Gajeel snorted.  
"All of this friendship crap sure has made you sentimental."  
"Don't you think that's a pot calling a kettle black? You're practically a marshmallow now, compared to before."  
"What are you talking about?"  
Levy blinked around herself, a vice of tension gripping her as she realized the steam was dissipating- the timer had run out!  
"You know exactly what Juvia is talking about. Ever since the S-class exam, maybe even before that, you've almost become a different person. And you know why."  
Levy was chewing her nails like a maniac, watching as the steam began to fade, and the shadowy forms of Gajeel and Juvia appeared in the opposite corner. Which meant that they could see her, too, if they looked over... and unless she did something fast, they would be able to see she didn't have anything covering her chest within the next ten seconds or so. Levy tore at her thumbnail, the sting and blood not distracting her at all from her situation. She didn't know where the timer was, which meant that if she stood up now and looked for it to turn the steam back on, she'd have to pat at all the walls until she found it, by which time the steam might completely disappear, leaving her completely exposed. But as she worried about that, the steam was vanishing faster, and she realized with a start that Laxus was also in the steam room, sitting to her right on a lower level.  
"I don't know what you're talking about." Gajeel muttered. Juvia laughed.  
"Do you really want Juvia to say it? You'll just get embarassed."  
The steam was almost completely gone. Levy brought her knees up to her chest and wrapped her arms around them, trying to hide herself.  
"Here, I'll get that." Laxus said, standing up and walking towards the timer.  
Levy sighed in relief, glancing at Gajeel and Juvia to check they hadn't noticed her, but froze when Gajeel met her gaze, looking surprised. The next second, however, the room filled with steam once more, just as the door burst open.  
"Levy, I got your top!" Lucy cried, rushing in.  
"Over here, Lucy!" Levy called, and the next second, Lucy was clambering towards her, the bikini top clutched triumphantly in her fist.  
"What took you so long?" Levy asked, taking it from her and turning, letting Lucy tie it up.  
"Natsu and Gray were still fighting, and your top was stuck to Natsu, and Gray had taken off his trunks, and then Gray made this huge pillar of ice, sending Natsu up really high, and you know I suck at climbing, so I summoned Taurus to go up and get it back for me, but then he was distracted-"  
"By your sexy body?" Levy asked drily as Lucy tied a double-knot at her neck, then started on the next string.  
"Yeah... Anyway, he was so useless I sent him back, and by that time Loke had come back, and he dealt with it, but then Natsu thought he wanted to join in and started fighting him (that moron...) so Loke tossed it to me, but it went in the deep end, so I had to swim back and then Gray thought it was his trunks, so he was in the way-"  
"Well, I'm glad it's back, anyway." Levy interrupted with a sigh. "This is the _last _time I wear a swimsuit like this." she said as they walked through the steam towards the door.  
"So, have you been sitting here topless the whole time?" Lucy asked with a grin.  
"Shut up!" Levy hissed, shoving her friend through the door.  
"Gajeel was in there!" she said when the door shut again, and Lucy clapped a hand to her mouth.  
"Whoops... well maybe he's kicking himself for missing out." she suggested with a shrug.  
Levy rolled her eyes, and they returned to the pool, Levy staying far away from Natsu and Gray's fight this time.

A few hours later, everyone got out of the pool to get changed. Levy gratefully took her bikini off, and then sighed as she changed into one of the outfits Lucy had designed for her: a white tanktop with a sweetheart neckline, pink shorts, a soft, blue cardigan, yellow Doc Martins, and black, thigh-high stockings. This was very tame compared to the rest of the outfits her friend had loaded her up with (various bustiers, cut-out minis, stockings and garters, and various brassiere-croptops). She emerged from the changeroom to find Lucy waiting outside, dressed to the nines in a tight, red cocktail dress and black stillettos.

"Good choice." she said with a grin, pointing at Levy's legs. "The 'absolute territory' look. Very good." she said, giving her a thumbs-up before linking arms and heading over to the lockers.  
"'Absolute territory'?" Levy asked curiously. Lucy grinned.  
"The delicious sneak-peek of skin where the stockings end and the shorts begin. Any man's dream." Levy raised her eyebrows.  
"I'm sure." she said drily.  
"I wish my hair towell-dried as well as yours... mine just goes all crimpy, but your hair looks great!" Lucy said, eyeing Levy's curls enviously.  
"Come on, Lucy. You know I'd kill for your hair. You can do so much with it! I can't even do a ponytail without half of it falling out." Levy smiled, grabbing her bag and heading out the door, Lucy right behind her.  
"So what's the plan now?" Levy asked quietly as they made their way through the pool's entrance hall, which was packed with happily chatting guild members. "Well, once everyone's changed, most of us are heading for that japanese food place across the street- Master's reserved it. All-you-can-eat, of course. So, I suggest we both go, and you and Gajeel leave early and go for a romantic walk. How does that sound?" Levy bit her lip.  
"I mean, to be honest, it sounds great... I love walking at night, Jet and Droy and I used to go stargazing a lot... but how would you like to try and convince Gajeel to leave a meal early?" she asked Lucy, who snorted.  
"I wouldn't, but it's not me asking, it's you, and when it comes to you, I'm pretty sure Gajeel's willing to be flexible." Levy sighed.  
"I wouldn't be so sure." Lucy patted her head, smirking.  
"Believe me, Lev, you are the _only _person Gajeel has _ever _let stay with him. I'm pretty sure he'll do what you ask."  
"Fine, fine." Levy muttered before going over to chat with team Shadow Gear.  
"Is everyone here? Yes?" Master called, standing on the registration counter (to the bemusement of the pool secretaries) and nodding good-naturedly. "In that case, let's head out!" Everyone from the guild cheered as they pushed through the doors and made their way, talking, laughing, and fooling around, to the nearby sushi bar. "  
You know, Levi, I've been thinking," Lucy said, sidling up to her and putting her arm around her shoulders.  
"That can't be good." Levy said with a grin.  
"Shut up! I've just been thinking that you're the only person I know except Wendy who can literally climb someone like a tree." Levy burst out laughing.  
"_That's _what you've been thinking about? Why?" she asked. Lucy shot her a wicked grin.  
"Because, as demonstrated during the chicken fight, Gajeel is the perfect height for that."  
"Hey!" Levy said, shoving her friend over, but laughing all the same: the ridiculous image of her climbing somebody was still lodged in her mind. Lucy laughed, too, then tousled Levy's hair affectionately.  
"I've got some great ideas for tomorrow, Lev. They're gonna blow him away." Levy raised an eyebrow skeptically.  
"Right. And your other plans haven't worked so far because...?"  
"Hey, hey, this is a work in progress! I'll bet you anything he's been going crazy all week!"  
"It's only been like three days."  
"Details, details..." Lucy said, flapping her hand as though she were shooing them away. "In any case, I'll lay the whole plan out tomorrow morning, so be ready for an early wake-up call!" Lucy said cheerily, ignoring Levy's groan.

They reached the sushi bar within a few minutes, at which point Lucy seized Levy's hand and shot through the crowd.  
"Where are we going?" Levy hissed.  
"I'm looking for Gajeel, who _you _have to sit next to." she said, scanning the long table, which was quickly filling up, for her tall, dark, and spiky quarry. "There he is." she said triumphantly, and all but shoved Levy forwards. She stumbled a little, over balancing, but managed to fall straight into the seat next to Gajeel, rather than onto the table.  
"Thanks, Lucy..." she muttered sarcastically, before smiling and saying hi to Juvia, who sat down across from her, holding the arm of a protesting Gray in a vice-like grip, beaming.  
"So, just to clarify," Gajeel said suddenly, turning to Levy with a kind of shit-eating grin she hadn't seen before.  
"What?" she asked, looking up at him.  
"So you were in the steam room the whole time... completely topless?" he asked, snickering. Levy's face flamed up and she scowled.  
"Jeez, why are you bringing that up? Seriously, that's not even funny." she said, folding her arms and turning away as Gajeel continued to laugh. Levy caught Lucy's eye from further down the table and pouted at her. Lucy rolled her eyes and shrugged.  
"Come on, it _is _funny. Just a little." Gajeel said, leaning his arm on her head.  
"No, it's not! It was really embarassing. Stop that." Levy said, batting at his side, but he just grinned.  
"Well imagine if it were me, missing my trunks and hiding in the steam." Despite herself, Levy snorted. "What's this, are you laughing at me?" he teased her. "Seriously, that's not even funny." he repeated back to her in a sing-song voice, and Levy had to cover her mouth with her hands, giggling.  
Across the table, she spotted Juvia smiling at her before turning back to Gray, blushing and asking him to share the 'love-love sushi boat' with her.  
"Hey, I've been wondering," Gajeel said thoughtfully, his arm still resting on Levy's head. "How come you don't do any physical fighting? I know you do your stuff with words, but why do you leave all the melee stuff to those two idiots?" he asked, jerking a thumb at Jet and Droy, who were sitting further down the table. Levy scowled.  
"Don't call them idiots! I know you don't like them, but they're my team! We've been friends since we were kids!" she said, irritated. "But I would have thought the answer to your question to be obvious. I don't fight like you do because I can't. If I tried to punch out a bad guy, I'd be killed in, like, ten seconds." she muttered, picking up her menu at last and browsing through it. Gajeel slid his arm off of her.  
"I'm not talking about punching people out. I'm asking why you don't do all that acrobatic stuff in fights. You should- it sure took Mirajane by surprise." he said, and when Levy glanced up, she saw that he was frowning.  
"It would interfere with my letter magic. And I'm not good enough at it for it to really be useful. But..." she said, smiling a little, "I'm glad you noticed." Gajeel glanced away.  
"Hard not to, considering you were sitting on me at the time..." he muttered, and she grinned wider.

An hour later, Levy caught Lucy's eye, and nodded at her. She was nervous, but she wanted to get out of the restaurant anyway; with everyone there, it was really noisy and stuffy.  
"Hey, Gajeel," she said, poking his arm. He looked at her, half-way through a plate of california rolls. "Do you want to go for a walk? It's really stuffy in here." Gajeel frowned at her.  
"Why don't you take Lucy?" he asked, and although she kept her smile, Levy scowled inwardly. She might have known he was going to be difficult. He hated having a meal interrupted.  
"Lucy's busy." she said, giving her friend an intense gaze which she hoped made her understand.  
Lucy, apparently, got the message. She grabbed Natsu's arm and yelled out she was starting an arm-wrestling competition, then muttered quickly in Natsu's ear. Gajeel looked up the table at them, then back at Levy, his expression unreadable for a few minutes, then he sighed.  
"What the heck. It's too damn noisy in here, anyway." he said, standing up.  
Levy beamed at him, and triumphantly walked out of the restaurant, Gajeel right behind her.

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**/  
**Thank you for reading! Please let me know what you think :)


	7. Chapter 7

**chapter seven**

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Thanks for the follows, reviews, and favourites :)  
Just a few notes: The stars and constellations discussed in this chapter are almost all made-up- I figured that they'd be different in the Fairy Tail universe, so I just made some up :) Also, I used the spelling 'Jellal' because I like that the best, not because I am unaware of alternative spellings, etc

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Levy tucked her arms behind her back and gazed up at the moon as she waited for Gajeel, who was letting Pantherlily know where they were going.

The night air was cool and sweet, and Levy sighed happily as she breathed it in. Her birthday was next week, she realized with a start.  
"Geez... eighteen..." she murmured, blowing a stray lock of hair out of her face.  
"Huh?" Gajeel was back. Levy shook her head and smiled.  
"Nothing." she replied, beaming as Gajeel shrugged and began to walk down the path.  
"You coming or what? I thought you wanted a walk." he called over his shoulder, and she hurried to catch up.  
"Look at the stars! There are so many out tonight!" Levy said excitedly, pointing up at the black sky, which was dotted all over with shiny pricks of light. Gajeel glanced up.  
"Oh yeah." Levy glanced at him as he continued to stare upwards.  
"Are you interested in stars?" she asked after a few seconds, apparently jerking him out of his reverie. He shrugged.  
"I guess... I don't know any of their names or anything. Do you?" he asked, after a pause. Levy nodded, then shrugged.  
"I mean, I don't know all of them... but..." she trailed off, biting her lip as she tipped her chin back and scanned the sky, stopping. "That bright one there is Balthazar the Protector... and if you follow it up, to the Hero's Diamond, it becomes the tip of Echnidian, the dragon with seven heads. Do you see them? Look," she said, pointing up. "Three there, then that bright one, then the other three."  
"Where?" Gajeel asked, squinting upwards and stopping as well. Levy glanced around and spotted a park bench.

"Come here." she said, walking over to it and standing on it.  
"Give me your hand." she said as Gajeel followed her over. She took it and pointed it upwards. "There's the dragon... and there are the heads." she said, moving his hand over. "See?" she asked, and he nodded.  
"What's that one?" he asked, pointing further to the left. Levy tilted her head to the side.  
"That group of stars? To the right of the moon?"  
"Yeah."  
"That's the Heavenly Cluster. The seven greatest mages from the first century, turned into stars to watch over the world. And if you look just below them," she said, guiding Gajeel's hand down, "you see that they form the flame on the Moxal Torch of Sirenze the Light-bringer. Do you see that?" she asked, using Gajeel's hand to trace down from the bright cluster to the dotted outline of the torch and Sirenze. Gajeel looked at her and nodded.

Levy was suddenly aware of the way she was slightly taller than him while standing on the bench, of his shoulder, pressed against her chest as she held his arm, his hand, warm in both of hers. She was glad of the darkness, in case she was blushing. She distracted herself by pointing out all the zodiac constellations, showing Gajeel the heavenly forms of Lucy's spirits until she ran out of stars she could name.

"What's your favourite?" Gajeel asked her, and she twisted her mouth in thought for a minute before pointing further to the east.  
"That one. Lillimarion the tiger. Those four stars make her head, then you follow the line down to the Goddess star on her back, then up to her tail. The Seven Son stars make the legs." she explained, then lowered her arm, smiling.  
"I think I like the story behind Lillimarion the best. She was the Rune Princess -the mage who discovered and harnessed the basic magic that I use- and her body was covered in stripes of the code she discovered. She was asked by the Council of Four to aid them in a war that was devouring the world... she agreed, against her better judgement, because the man she was in love with (Gindread of Heaven, that's his star over there) was fighting in it, and she wished to protect him. She spent many days searching for him. When she found him, he was injured, fighting the Yimmith Drake. She killed the Drake, but Gindried died of his poisoned injuries. Her heart was broken, so Lillimarion turned herself into her True Beast Form."  
"What's that?" Gajeel asked.  
"It's a kind of rune magic which allows the user to assume the form of an animal, as suggested by its name. Like Elfman, Mirajane, and Lisanna's magic, but the body is made of runes, so it's not a full transformation. And it's forbidden, because you can never change back." Levy explained. "Anyway, the stripes of runes on her human body became the stripes of a tiger, and she vanished into the forest, never to be seen again." Levy finished, gazing up at the constellation fondly, remembering the way her father had told her the story when she was a child. It had been to cheer her up after her grandfather had died.  
She smiled, now thinking of her grandfather and they way he used to read to her, pull coins from her ears, and take her fishing.

After some time, Levy blinked, wondering how long she'd been deep in thought, and glanced at Gajeel, blushing when he met his gaze, which had already been on her... for how long? For a few minutes, neither of them said anything. Levy's blush darkened as her gaze dropped to his mouth, then back to his eyes, his unreadable expression. It intrigued her the way she often couldn't read his thoughts, but now it just frustrated her.

"Do you..." she began, but a sudden loud rustle from the forest behind them startled her, and she tripped forwards over a loose brick in the cobblestone path, hit the grass sideways, then sat down on her butt, feeling very foolish.  
"Ow." she said belatedly, rubbing her ankle, rolling her eyes as Gajeel laughed at her.  
"What was that noise, anyway?" she asked, and Gajeel shrugged, glancing towards them.  
"I see someone." he said after a pause, and Levy bit her lip nervously. "Wait here, I'll look." Gajeel said brusquely, and the next second, he was off, tramping through the undergrowth, shouldering his way past greenery.  
For a few minutes, Levy stared at the place he'd disappeared from, listening hard to the sounds his feet made, snapping twigs and kicking up leaves. Then she realized that she was alone in the dark, on a rarely-used path, next to a forest full of wild animals, with what she suspected was a twisted ankle.  
"Great." she muttered, but sat up straighter anyways, looking around her carefully. After all, she was a member of Fairy Tail. Even if she were afraid of the dark, she shouldn't show it.

Despite this mindset, she continued to twitch violently every time she heard a rustle of leaves, and when she heard a wolf howling, she let out a very embarassing squeak. To take her mind off her fears, she thought of Gajeel.  
She had been so surprised when he'd shown an interest in constellations, as it wasn't often he wanted to discuss such things with her. She'd never thought of him as stupid, but she had always thought he was more interested in things like strategies or perhaps the different metal compounds- astronomy had never even crossed her mind.  
She tucked her knees up to her chin and smiled, thinking of the way he'd held her gaze, the way his eyes, normally dark though they were, had looked so shadowed, and so... so sexy. Her jaw dropped when that realization dawned. It wasn't as though she'd never realized that Gajeel was attractive- she'd spent many, many hours daydreaming about his thick, muscular shoulders, his broad chest, strong arms, huge calves... honestly, she could probably go on forever. But there was simply something different about his eyes which made her...  
She shook her head, confused by herself, and muttered that she really had to see Lucy in the morning. A few seconds later, she jumped as though she'd been shocked, as a loud crashing came from the trees next to her, and the next second, Gajeel reappeared, brushing leaves from his shoulders and smirking. Levy let go of the breath she'd been holding.  
"Well?" she asked, looking up at him.  
"It was Jellal**. **Probably waiting for Erza to meet him." he said with a shrug, and Levy sighed.  
"I wish those two would just get together already. Everybody _knows_ that they will. The only thing stopping them is their respective shyness."  
"Or stupidity." Gajeel suggested, and Levy laughed.  
"Definitely." she agreed.

"You getting up, or what?" he asked her, and she scowled.  
"Well, I would, but because I'm not built like a brick horse, like some people, I have managed to twist my ankle, so you can either carry me, which I personally think is quite unlikely, or you can watch me crawl ba-" Levy cut herself off with a squeak as Gajeel rolled his eyes and grabbed her by the arms, pulling her up. She stood on one foot, tucking the injured one behind her other calf, and looked at him in bewilderment as he laughed, shaking his head at her.  
"'A brick horse'? Can you even imagine what that would _look _like? I suppose that comment was reffering to me, was it?" he asked, grinning at her.  
"Well...well, yes, but-" she made the mistake of catching his eye and burst out laughing.  
"Well, pardon me if I'm not very good at coming up with similes that make sense on the spot! And the point is that a horse made of bricks... or a horse-shaped brick formation... would be very strong! The small matter of mobility is nothing when one is considering the big picture..." she trailed off, a smile pulling at the sides of her mouth as she fought to continue frowning, Gajeel laughing like she was the funniest thing in the world. She wasn't sure if that was a good thing or a bad thing.  
"Come on. I'll carry you back." He said, pointing his thumb at his back and turning.  
"It's okay, I can walk... or limp.." she said nervously. She could practically hear him rolling his eyes.  
"If you're worried about being heavy, honestly, I think Pantherlily weighs more than you." he said, shaking his head.  
"Don't be ridiculous..." Levy muttered, but put her hands on his shoulders anyway when he bent down, and looped her arms around his neck when he grabbed her legs and hoisted her up.  
"If your ankles twist so easily," Gajeel said as he started walking.  
"Let me stop you right there." Levy interrupted him. "They don't twist 'easily'. They twist _normally_. It's you who has ankles and wrists and whatever like metal pipes." she said, disgruntled.  
"Well, don't you think that's a given?" he asked drily, and she sighed.  
"Fine, whatever, I have weak ankles, what was your point?" she asked.  
"I was wondering what you do if you hurt yourself on a job." he said, and Levy leaned her head back, sighing and watching the stars go by overhead.  
"It would depend if we'd finished or not. It it's a dangerous job, it can be really bad, because Jet and Droy would have to protect me more than usual. I mean, I can still use my magic, but it's more difficult to defend myself, I guess. That's normal though, for everyone who can't heal themselves, or who aren't able to take as much damage, like myself or Lucy. But normally, Jet and Droy would carry me back." she said with a shrug. Gajeel snorted.  
"Wouldn't those two spend ages fighting over who got to carry you?" he asked, and Levy remained silent, irritated that he was right. "I'm right, aren't I?" he said after a few seconds, and Levy muttered darkly at him, making him laugh again.

Levy sighed and pressed her cheek against Gajeel's shoulder, a little tired. She couldn't believe that they'd been swimming just an hour or so ago.. it felt like ages since she'd been hiding in the steam, topless, panicking... She tipped her head against Gajeel's back and groaned.  
"What's up?" he asked her.  
"Speak up, shortie." he said, when she just grumbled darkly.  
"I just remembered the whole steam room thing..." she sighed, and he chuckled and shook his head. "Hey, what were you and Juvia talking about in there?" she asked, only just then remembering their rather enigmatic conversation. Gajeel cleared his throat.  
"You heard that?" he asked, and Levy was both confused and intrigued to hear a certain amount of stiffness in his tone.  
"I'm sorry, if it was private, but I couldn't really block it out, and I mean, Laxus was there too, so.." she said, a little uncomfortable, now regretting having asked, considering that he was right to be reluctant- she _had _been eavesdropping.  
"Not really, she was just being annoying, as usual." Gajeel said shrugging, bumping Levy a bit. Levy smiled and tucked her chin onto his shoulder.  
"But you guys are best friends!" she said happily.

Lucy had often asked her how she felt about Gajeel and Juvia's close friendship, but she had never felt jealous at all. For one thing, she never felt she had a right to be- considering that the chances of Gajeel going out with her had seemed to be as likely as Natsu learning to speak fluent Finnish- and as far as she was concerned, Gajeel being happy made her happy. Fairy Tail was all about friendship, and it was the closeness of all the members which had attracted her to the guild in the first place.  
"For lack of a better word, I guess..." Gajeel said, and Levy patted his head.  
"You're cute." she commented, forgetting herself momentarily. Gajeel snorted loudly.  
"Aren't cute things normally small and friendly, like a cat, or like-"  
"Can't I have opinions?" Levy interrupted, swinging her legs in his grip.  
"I hate to think what kind of terrifying person you'd be without them." Gajeel said snarkily, and Levy rolled her eyes.  
"It's getting cold." she commented, shivering.  
"Do you want to just head home?" Gajeel asked.  
"Yes, please." she said, wriggling up and burying her cold nose in his neck.  
Gajeel stiffened for a second, staring down at her.  
"Can I?" she asked belatedly, drawing back, realizing she may have crossed a boundary- after all, she and Gajeel were not quite as casual as she was with Lucy, or with Shadow Gear.  
"It's fine." he said shortly after a pause, and she repositioned herself, shutting her eyes and attempting to forget the chill of the wind on her back, arms, and legs.  
"As soon as we get back, I am going to have a hot shower." she mumbled into Gajeel's neck, sighing as she imagined the warmth, the steam, the fluffy towel waiting for her...

Levy blinked, and as soon as she looked around her, she realized she must have fallen asleep.  
"We're back." Gajeel repeated, and as Levy rubbed her eyes and looked up again, she saw that he was quite right- he was standing at the front door.  
"Oh! Sorry, I was-"  
"Asleep, I know. You drooled on my shirt." Gajeel said drily as she slid off him, wincing as she forgot and landed on her injured foot.  
"Jeez, sorry, sorry..." she muttered, blushing, genuinely embarassed, but irritated that he'd brought it up.  
"You okay getting to the shower?" he asked her after he'd opened the door, watching as she hobbled up the steps and gingerly removed her shoes.  
"Yeah, thank you. In theory, it'll be better tomorrow." she said, limping down the hall towards the bathroom.  
"Oh! I forgot." she said, and turned around and hobbled back.  
"What's up?" Gajeel asked, looking down at her as she smiled up at him.  
"Thank you very much for coming on a walk, and for carrying me home." she said, hesitating only for a second before giving him a light hug around the middle, which (irritatingly) was about the highest she could reach without looking like she was trying too hard. With that, she turned back down the hall, and under Gajeel's surprised stare, headed for the shower.

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**/**


	8. Chapter 8

**chapter eight**

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Thank you for the lovely feedback! :)

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"Spill." Lucy instructed, grabbing Levy by the elbow and steering her to a table.

"Hey, Lucy!" Levy cried as her coffe swayed in her grip, and a few drips splashed down onto the table's surface.  
"I meant spill your information, not your drink!" Lucy said, handing Levy a few napkins to mop up the coffee.  
"Honestly, Lucy..." Levy grumbled, wiping the table.  
"Yes, I'm sorry, it's totally my fault, but I'm so excited Levy, I don't even know what to do!" Lucy said, bouncing up and down in her seat, her chest jiggling like two large water balloons. Levy sometimes wondered if Lucy's boobs had only grown so large in order to serve as comic relief.  
"About what? It's not like anything happened." Levy said, taking a sip of her now less-than-entirely-full coffee. Lucy scoffed at her, twirling her spoon around her own frothy cappucino.  
"Oh please. You guys never came back to the restaurant, so I can only assume that you two walked home together... come on, the whole situation screams romance." she said, beaming at Levy, who rolled her eyes.  
"Fine, I'll tell you what happened-" "I knew it! I knew it! Something happened!" Lucy squeaked. "But I just want to warn you that you will be disappointed, because _nothing happened._" Levy continued through gritted teeth. Lucy shook her head.  
"I don't believe you. Your idea of 'nothing' is completely different from my idea of 'nothing', Lev. I'm _sure._" She said with a confident smile.  
"Yeah, yeah.." Levy sighed, smiling anyways, helping herself to a pinch of Lucy's cinnamon bun.  
"So, dish." Lucy ordered, propping her chin up on her fists.

"Well, I mean, I thought it was pretty normal... we just went for a walk. And then he asked about the stars, so we talked about that for a while-"  
"Romantic!" Lucy cooed.  
"...Sure. But then he asked which was my favourite," Levy continued. "Oh wait! Um, when I was pointing out the stars, I was sort of holding his hand... sort of... kind of..." she mumbled into her coffee, glancing up at Lucy, who looked as though her birthday had come early.  
It's not like it had been _real _hand-holding, Levy thought as Lucy squealed, her hands pressed to her cheeks. _Real _hand-holding was more romantic. This had just been... practical. But really... she hadn't _needed _to hold his hand, had she? She just... did. Levy's cheeks turned pink, so she cleared her throat and continued the story, hoping Lucy wouldn't notice and ask her about it.  
"Anyway, I told him the story of Lillimarion... oh, yeah! I wanted to ask you something!" Levy remembered suddenly, putting her coffee down.  
"Sure, what's up?" Lucy asked, sitting up straight and smiling.  
"Um, well, it's nothing very important-"  
"Just tell me, Lev." Lucy interrupted, and Levy sighed.  
"Well... I may have... I mean, I was telling the story... and then I looked at Gajeel, but he was already... I mean he was already looking at me, which wasn't weird in itself, but then like I didn't know what to do so we were just looking at each other for ages, and it got kind of awkward, and I didn't know what to do-" "YOU SHOULD HAVE KISSED HIM!" Lucy exclaimed, bring both hands to her face and making a weird unintelligble moaning sound.  
"You okay?" Levy asked.  
"ARRrrgghmrghrmnwerghrmrnrgrh..." Lucy grumbled, her hands sliding down off of her face. She looked very disbelieving. "Levy, Gajeel was watching you while you were telling the story instead of looking at the constellation you were talking about, right?"  
"Right."  
"So either it's a coincidence, which considering the circumstances, it is _not_, or he was watching you because he admires your knowledge, or because you looked pretty, or because _you _fascinate him, all of which I genuinely believe are correct!" Lucy said, her hands gesturing wildly in front of her.  
Levy felt a little shocked and cornered as the words fell out of Lucy's mouth faster and faster, and her hand gestures became more and more erratic. "And then when you looked at him, I bet you _anything_ he wanted to kiss you! He was thinking about it, I bet, but then he wasn't sure if he should (because he's a moron), and... do you not _realize_, Levy, that you held The Gaze?"  
"What gaze?" Levy asked, finding her voice at last. Lucy sighed very dramatically, raising her hands up, then dangling one limply off of her forehead, her eyes seemingly beseeching the ceiling of the cafe to grant her friend some sense.  
"The Gaze of Unresolved Sexual Tension. The _ultimate gaze of anything ever!_" she said, as though this were the most obvious thing in the entire universe. "But... but... what!?" Levy exclaimed, now quite convinced that her friend had gone off the deep end. Lucy sighed a worldly sigh.  
"I mean that you two have held a should-I-kiss-them-or-not gaze. The gaze of ultimate romantic potential. The gaze _never _ends in a kiss, because it is _unresolved_. Well, at least now we know that my plan is working. You two clearly have UST up your butts." Lucy said, now looking more like her cheery self. "Whatever you say, Luce.." Levy said, pushing a stray lock of hair back behind her ear.  
"So, what then?" Lucy prompted.  
"Nothing. We heard a noise, I twisted my ankle, he went to look, he came back, and he carried me home."  
"That's great, that's so great!" Lucy sighed, beaming. Levy put down her coffee and cleared her throat.  
"But what are these amazing plans you said you had?" she asked, and Lucy straightened up, pushing her smooth blonde hair back and giving Levy a conspiratorial grin.  
"Today, I am setting up a huge game of truth or dare. After what you told me, I considered letting you guys have a quiet day, however," she continued, biting her thumb thoughtfully, "we have to show Gajeel that if he _doesn't _make a move, somebody else will." Levy frowned.  
"But... but nobody else is going to make a move on me, Lucy. And there's nobody else I-" she cut herself off, turning pink.  
"You are so cute!" Lucy sighed, smiling affectionately and patting Levy's hand. "I _know_ that, Lev. We both know that, but does Gajeel? That's the point. But this might be tricky... We have to show him that you might be taken away from him, but _you've _got to show, somehow, that you don't want to be with anyone but him." she said thoughtfully, nodding slowly as she figured things out.  
"Well that'll be easy." Levy muttered.  
"Good. I brought it up at the restaurant last night when you guys had left, so I'll just get everybody ready. I'll drop by when things are all figured out, but how about I walk you home?" Lucy said, standing up and stretching.  
"Thanks!" Levy said, picking up her empty coffee cup and throwing it out as they exited the cafe.  
"No problem, Lev." Lucy said, linking arms with her best friend.

Outside, the air was still chilly, as it had been when Levy had dragged herself out of bed that morning, but now the sun was glittering through the trees overhead, brightening the path and warming their faces.  
"You know what this whole thing reminds me of?" Lucy said after a few minutes.  
"What?" Levy said, grinning and rolling her eyes. She had a feeling that Lucy was about to...  
_"Sha-la-la-la-la-la my oh my, look at the boy too shy, he ain't gonna kiss the girl..." _Lucy sang, swinging her arm around Levy's shoulder and serenading her as Levy burst out laughing, trying to shake her off.  
_"Sha-la-la-la-la-la ain't that sad? Ain't it a shame, too bad- he's gonna miss the girl" _Lucy crooned as they turned the corner and began to walk along the bridge. By the time they'd reached the door to Gajeel's apartment, Lucy had got all the way through the verses.  
"Okay, _bye_, Lucy!" Levy said, unlocking the door and pushing it open.

_"You've got to kiss the girl! Why don't you kiss the girl? You gotta kiss the girl!" _Lucy continued, now purposefully off-key, twirling around as Levy laughed loudly. "What the hell is that?" Gajeel grumbled loudly from the kitchen, and Levy laughed even harder.  
_"Kiss the girl~" _Lucy finished dramatically, holding the last note until Levy pretended to shut the door in her face.  
"It's just Lucy!" Levy called over her shoulder.  
"I should've guessed." Gajeel muttered as he walked out of the kitchen behind her.  
"Ouch!" Lucy exclaimed, giggling.  
"Okay. I'll get Jet and Droy to drop round and take you to the party." Lucy said, perhaps in a louder voice than was necessary.  
"If you're trying to make him jealous of them, honestly, I don't think it's going to-" Levy hissed, but she was interrupted by Gajeel, who suddenly appeared behind her.  
"What party?" he asked bluntly. Lucy grinned up at him, but kept her eyes on Levy for a half-second longer as Levy glared at her.  
"There's a party this afternoon, but it'll probably go on until this evening, at the guild hall. The theme is 'Lonely Hearts Club Band'." Levy raised her eyebrows- that was certainly the first she'd heard about that.  
"What does that even mean?" she asked, and Lucy shrugged.  
"I don't really know, I was just feeling creative... but don't worry about that, I've got a costume for you."  
"Uh-huh... you know, I'm not exactly as big on dressing up as you are-" Levy began, but silenced herself when Lucy shot her a look. Levy was still very aware of Gajeel's presence behind her.  
"Anyways, it'll be really fun! There'll be truth or dare, seven minutes in heaven, spin the bottle... Basically a party completely devoted to ship tease!" she said brightly.  
"Um, you've lost me." Levy interjected, but Lucy just laughed, told them it would probably start at two, and repeated that she'd send Jet and Droy to pick Levy up.  
"...You too, Gajeel, if you'd like to-"  
"I'll go." Gajeel grumbled, folding his arms and returning into the house. Levy watched him leave.  
"Lucy, he really looks annoyed, I'm worried-"  
"See? He must consider Jet and Droy enough of a threat to-"  
"To possibly beat them up?" Levy interrupted, biting her lip nervously. Lucy rolled her eyes.  
"What do you think this is? A play? He's just sulking." Lucy said dismissivelly before skipping down the road, waving goodbye.  
"Honestly..." Levy muttered as she waved back and shut the door.

Half an hour later, Lucy turned up again and dropped off a paper bag with a wave and wink, and was gone again.  
"Honestly..." Levy murmured once again as she carried it back to her room, not even daring to imagine what was in it.  
"Something the matter?" Pantherlily asked her as he floated into the room. Levy smiled at him and shook her head.  
"Nope! I'm just a little concerned about this party... did Gajeel tell you about it?" she asked as she dropped the bag onto the bed and sat down on the couch. "No, he didn't. I've been out most of the morning." Lily said, landing beside her and folding his arms.  
"It's not a big deal or anything, it's just..." Levy blew some hair out of her face and leant her head back. "Lucy's organized this party, with some strange love theme, I don't even know..." she muttered, smiling when Pantherlily rolled his eyes. "I'm just worried, because she might be... um, encouraging Jet and Droy..." Levy trailed off, not even sure what to say.  
She wasn't really concerned about that, as Lucy was just using them to make Gajeel jealous, but... as nobody had filled the rest of team Shadow Gear in (for obvious reasons), they might get the wrong idea.  
"Jet and Droy, huh? Gajeel doesn't like them very much, does he?" Lily said thoughtfully.  
"No, he doesn't." Levy agreed, reaching over and stroking Lily's ears softly."I wonder why." she murmured. "You know Lily, when you're in this form, I sometimes forget that I'm living with _two _really tall and strong guys, instead of just one!" she said with a giggle, lifting up the kitty and placing him down on her lap. Pantherlily folded his arms, looking a little ruffled.  
"You know, Levy, if I were less fond of you, I might smack you upside the head." he said, frowning, but his humorous tone gave him away. Levy giggled and put on an apologetic face.  
"Please, find it in your great and furry heart to forgive a callous, unthinking fool, I beg of you, mighty and brave Pantherlily." she said, slipping off the couch and bowing down to Lily, who chuckled and flew over to the bed, poking at Lucy's paper bag.  
"What's in here, then? A costume for the party?" he asked. Levy shrugged and walked over to it.  
"Let's have a look." she said, and tipped the contents out. "Jeez, Lucy... she sure goes all-out..." Levy murmured, wondering just where her friend got all these clothes as she took in the garments which had fallen out of the bag.  
Laying on the bed were a pair of red and pink checked thigh-high stockings, trimmed with red lace; a red and gold drum majorette's coat; shiny red mary jane heels; white silk gloves; a red hairband, decorated with little pink hearts; a pair of white shorts.  
"Holy crap." Levy breathed when she spotted a cat-sized feathered conductor's hat, and a similar outfit for Gajeel.  
"I think... this is for you." she said to Lily, pointing to the tiny red hat, which he held up distastefully.  
"I look forward to telling Gajeel about all this." he said, popping the hat on his head with an eye-roll, and with that, he flew out of the room.  
Levy put her hands on her hips, shaking her head. Either Lucy had _way _too much time on her hands, or a fancy-dress store was going out of business.  
With a sigh, she gathered up all the clothes and headed to the bathroom to change, giggling to herself at the thought of Gajeel's reaction to the outfit Lucy had prepared for him.  
"He'll probably have a stroke." she muttered to herself, grinning.

Fifteen minutes later, Levy was changed and was running her hands through her hair, wondering if Lucy would expect her to make more of an effort with it when there was a knock on the door. She trotted down the hall, but Gajeel had already answered it. Levy grinned when she saw Jet and Droy, dressed up like she was, and clearly quailing under the glare Gajeel was probably giving them.  
"What are you doing here?" he asked gruffly.  
"They're here to take us to the party! Hey guys!" Levy said brightly, sliding under Gajeel's arm and grinning at her team.  
"Levy! Where did you go last night?" Jet asked her.  
"Levy, you look so cute! She's so cute!" Droy said, turning to Jet, who told him to get a grip.  
"You're not wearing Lucy's outfit!" Levy said accusingly to Gajeel, who gave her a look.  
"Did you seriously think I would?" he asked her, folding his arms and leaning against the door frame.  
"No, no I didn't." Levy said with a smile, hopping down the steps and linking arms with Jet and Droy. "Are you coming? And where's Lily?" she asked, but just as she did so, Lily came flying out the door, scowling, his hat on his head.  
"See? Lily dressed up." Levy said teasingly to Gajeel, who just snorted and shut the door behind him. "Let's go, guys!" Levy said cheerily to Shadow Gear, who set off, chatting happily about Levy's outfit and wondering what the party would be like.

Levy glanced behind, caught Gajeel's gaze, and smiled. The corners of his mouth twitched up, but turned down again in a scowl when Jet put his arm around her shoulders. Levy turned away again and glanced up at Pantherlily, who was flying overhead.  
Now that they were actually on their way, Levy was beginning to get concerned about what was actually going to happen at the party. Lucy had promised all sorts of games -games that would surely involve lots of embarassing situations- and now Levy was very tense; she trusted Jet and Droy more than anyone else, but she wasn't quite as confident that they wouldn't get the wrong idea, or embarass her. She sighed to herself and wondered why all of Lucy's plans so far had somehow ended in humiliation for Levy. A few blocks later, they arrived at the guild, the outside of which had been decorated with heart-shaped decorations and red and pink streamers.  
"When Lucy has a party, she _has a party_," Levy murmured, looking up at the building.  
"Well, guys, we're here." she said with a smile that was half-forced as they walked inside.

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**/**


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter nine**

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Sorry for the slow update! I've been travelling, and the wifi's been a bit patchy.

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The guild hall was hardly recognizable; red, pink, and gold streamers hung from every wall and criss-crossed over the ceiling, draped over the wooden support beams; brass instruments and huge sparkling drums were servings as centerpieces at every table, which had been pushed to the edges of the room; deep red carpets were layered over the floor; huge piles of squashy, tasseled pillows were strewn all over the place; feathered decorations and top hats were hung from the ceiling with clear wire; large balloon hearts floated in clumps over the glitter-strewn bar, and brassy, big-band music was blaring out of a fancy record player in the corner. All around them, people dressed as drum majorettes, conductors, and acrobats sat in groups on the pretty carpets, chatting and laughing and drinking.

"This is... this is huge!" Levy breathed, staring around her as they took it all in. "When Lucy goes all-out, _she goes all-out!_"

"I'm gonna grab a drink. You want anything, Levy?" Jet asked. She shook her head, and he and Droy headed off to the bar, where Mirajane was serving, wearing a red sequinned dress and a blue officer's jacket, complete with tasseled epaulettes.

"Um, I guess... do you want to sit down?" she asked Gajeel, who was still staring at the heart-shaped balloons in disbelief. She took his silence as a yes, and they sat down next to a pile of over-stuffed pillows, next to Cana and Gray, who were chatting over a few drinks, the former perhaps having more than her fair share.

"Are you starting to regret coming?" Levy asked, grinning at how blatantly uncomfortable Gajeel looked.

"I think I was regretting it shortly after agreeing to go, actually." he replied tossing her an ironic smile. Levy ignored the resulting jolt in her stomach and played with the pillow in her lap.

She was just about to ask when it would start when a huge bang shook the hall and a huge cloud of confetti burst out of a huge sparkling cannon. A few seconds later Lucy emerged from the cloud of paper and glitter, decked out in a navy-blue general's coat, a matching mini skirt, a huge double-peaked, feathery hat, and bright red thigh-high boots. Everyone cheered and clapped as the rest of her team appeared around her, each wearing a matching (if altered- Natsu and Gray were wearing pants and regular boots, although Gray was missing about 80% of his outfit, and Erza had upped the fetish fuel by about 70%) outfit and grinning.

"I knew Lucy couldn't've pulled this off by herself," Levy muttered, grinning, "But I bet she had to beg and blackmail them all into helping."

"Thanks for coming, everybody!" Lucy called over the cheering, getting everyone's attention.

"The party goes until ten! Free drinks, free food, and obviously, free fan service." she said with a flirty wink, gesturing to Erza, who gave her the stink-eye for a second, then gave a little twirl, to a huge wave of cheers and whistles. (To elaborate on Erza's outfit- Her general's coat was pinned to reveal a lot of cleavage, and was cropped just below her chest, her shiny red boots hugged her fish-netted thighs, and her butt was squeezed into tiny blue booty shorts.) Lucy cleared her throat and the cheers died down a little.

"Spin the bottle's in the corner to my right, 7 minutes is straight ahead, Truth or Dare and Would You Rather's over by the bar, Strip Poker's in the centre, and there's a jello-wrestling ring just out back!" Lucy finished with a red-lipped smile. She snapped her fingers and soft music with a distinct groove and beat started playing.

"This is... really..." Gajeel said, shaking his head as the confetti-cannon fired again, covering Evergreen and Elfman (who were closest) in glitter. Levy couldn't even speak- her jaw hung loose as she stared.

"W-Well," she began, clearing her throat after her voice cracked, looking up at Gajeel, "Do you want to play anything? I kind of like truth or dare." she said with a shrug and a smile.

It might be overkill -it was _definitely _overkill- but Lucy had gone to a lot of effort for her, so the least she could do was try and get Gajeel to have some fun. He looked at her, his eyebrows crinkled in disbelief.

"Do you seriously think I'm gonna-"

"Yes, I do." she cut him off and pulled him up, dragging him behind her, keeping a hold on his wrist. "This will be fun!" she insisted as she led him over to the bar, where about twenty of their guild were already gathering.

She turned her head, listening to his muttered protestations for a few seconds before laughing. Somehow, even though his presence was part of the reason Levy's stomach was tangled in a nervous knot, just having him with her made it all easier. He made her laugh.

Fifteen minutes later, they were sitting next to each other in a large circle of people as Juvia was being forced to list all of the BDSM toys and accessories she had in her closet at home. She was bright pink in the face, but was sending heated looks to Gray all the while.

"That's... that's a lot..." Levy breathed as Juvia finished, ending with 42 items.

"Cana. Truth or Dare?" Juvia asked, hugging her knees to her chest and smiling. Cana pressed a hand to her mouth to silence a burp and shrugged.

"Hmm. Dare, why not?" Juvia smirked.

"Call Gildarts over to play, and call him 'Daddy'." The circle inhaled as a unit, staring at Cana, who looked shocked.

"Oh crap. Oh crap, Juvia, why? Ugh!" Cana whined, pressing her hands to her face.

"Come on, it's what you deserve! You made my darling Gray-sama swallow twenty hot peppers!" she said, glancing again at Gray, who shuddered at the memory. Cana blew her long, chocolate-brown hair out of her face and sighed.

"Okay, fine." she cleared her throat and looked around the hall for her father. Gildarts was leaning against the wall with Laxus, holding a huge tankard of beer and quite obviously laughing at him.

"Hey!" Cana called out, waving at him. He looked up and grinned. Cana shut her eyes and bit her lip. "Hey, Daddy, come play with us!" Gildarts dropped his beer and stared at her for a long minute before shuffling over and sitting next to her, looking pretty stunned. Cana was bright red in the face. She cleared her throat and tried to hurry the game up to take the attention off of her.

"Lucy! Truth or Dare?" Cana asked, giving Gildarts a small smile. Lucy leant forwards and grinned.

"Dare!" she cheered, raising her fist in the air. Cana thought for a second, then dared Lucy to summon Loki and flash him.

"UGH!" Lucy exclaimed, tilting her head back and pinching the bridge of her nose. "Why, why, why did I pick dare..." she moaned, reaching half-heartedly for her keys. Gritting her teeth, she opened Loki's gate. Levy leaned forwards, giggling.

"What're you so excited about? What's going to happen?" Gajeel asked from her right, sounding bored.

"I don't know! But it's going to be awesome!"

"You're this excited about Lucy's tits?" he asked, confused. Levy laughed.

"No, stupid! But I wanna see what Loki does."

"Knowing him he'll probably propose." Gajeel muttered and Levy beamed.

"I know, right?" By this time, Loki had already appeared in front of Lucy, wearing his usual black suit.

"What's up?" he asked, glancing around and taking in the garishly-decorated guild hall.

"Ugh, we're just playing truth or dare... and it's my turn." Lucy explained, scowling.

"Let me guess, you've been dared to kiss the man of your dreams?" Loki asked with a grin. Lucy blushed and rolled her eyes.

"No! But... well... okay, I'm gonna do this, but... um..."

Apparently Lucy decided there was no way to explain what she was about to do. So she just opened her coat. All around them, the room filled with cheers and whistles (although nobody except Loki could see anything), but Levy's eyes were fixed determinedly on Loki, who just stared. And then he suddenly lit up like a torch, making everyone within ten feet of him have to squint and shield their eyes. He then burst into flame and spouted confetti and heart-shaped clouds, and was gone.

"Where'd he go?" Evergreen asked, distastefully wafting away a shower of glitter. Lucy shut her coat and scowled.

"He closed his gate." she replied.

"He probably went to write in his diary. An entry called 'the best day of my life'. Levy quipped, grinning when Lucy scowled at her and Gajeel laughed.

"Okay. Levy. Truth or Dare?" Lucy asked sitting down and fixing Levy with a naughty grin that made Levy's insides freeze.

They'd been playing for at least an hour and a half, and so far, Lucy (who so far had been the only person to pick Levy) had given her pretty easy things. Things like telling embarrassing stories, or singing stupid songs, or motorboating Erza or something, but this time was different. For one thing, Lucy was nodding at her and giving her a meaningful wink. For another, she was subtly jerking her head upwards, and when Levy looked at the ceiling, there was a sign stuck to it that read 'SHOWTIME'. This wasn't going to end well.

"Uh... Uh..." she stalled, completely unsure. She was pretty certain that Lucy would find some way to enact her plan whether Levy chose Truth or Dare, but she hoped there was a way out.

"Come on Levy, just choose!" Lucy said, her voice teasing, her eyebrows raised. Levy bit her lip. If she chose dare, she'd have to do something, and it most certainly would involve Gajeel. Like, sit in Gajeel's lap for the next ten turns, or something. And if it was truth...

"Dare. Dare, I pick dare." she said at last, crossing all of her fingers and toes that whatever horrible thing Lucy was going to make her do... that it wouldn't be _too _horrible. Lucy smirked slowly, the edges of her mouth creeping towards her ears as her eyes narrowed in a distinctly feline way. As soon as she made that face, Levy knew she was toast.

"Dare, huh?" Lucy said, propping her chin up on her hands and biting down on her smirk.

"Well then, Levy, I dare you to do 7 minutes in heaven with both Jet and Droy at the same time, right now."

Levy choked on her own breath.

Next to her, Gajeel seemed to have frozen, but to be fair, the confetti-cannon had just gone off again, coating him in sticky glitter. "Uh..." Levy's mouth had gone terribly dry, and she swallowed with difficulty, trying to speak.

"But... but-"

"Hey, hey, Levy. This is a dare! No backing out!" Lucy said, raising her eyebrows and chin, giving Levy a challenging look. Levy scowled darkly.

"This is... this is..." she couldn't think of an adjective strong enough to express herself, (other than fucktacular, but she didn't like to say that in public), so she just stood up, fists clenched, and tried not to look at Gajeel as she walked past and into the storage closet, slamming the door shut behind her.

Once inside, she sat down on a bucket and put her face in her hands. This was _horrible_- not only would she have to either explain really quickly, or get into a very uncomfortable situation with her team, but she was sure this wouldn't help her get Gajeel's attention. In the highly unlikely situation where he got jealous (why would he, though, if he hardly cared about her?), what could he do, anyway?

After what felt like ages, the door opened, and Jet and Droy walked in. Droy looked totally wasted, making this a whole lot more difficult.

"Hey Lev-" Jet began, but Levy cut him off before he could even get going. She held her hands up and took a deep breath.

"Okay, okay, I know this is a dare, and I know I'm totally chickening out, but I... I _can't _kiss you guys. I absolutely can't. I can't because I don't like you that way, which you _know_, and I know you know, but jeez you sure don't act like you know half the time... But that's not the point!" Levy knew she was rambling, but she couldn't stop. She had to get control of herself and the situation, but she was terrible, she was terrible and this, at _everything, _and she just couldn't shut up.

"I can't kiss you because I like Gajeel! I like him like crazy, and even though we're not dating yet, and I doubt we ever will, I don't want... I don't want to kiss anybody else." she mumbled, pressing her hands into her face and then sliding them up to grip her hair.

"Woah there, crazy." Jet said, grabbing her shoulder and giving her a friendly shake. "If you'd let a guy get a word in edgewise, please?" he asked, giving her a friendly grin. Levy blew out a deep breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding and nodded.

"Chill out, Lev! Lucy already told us everything. It's not like we aren't totally crushed by the news-" he said, his voice cracking for a second, winking at her to make her laugh, "but hey, we're Shadow Gear, together forever, right?"

"Right!" Levy murmured, wiping at her eyes. She couldn't believe she was crying. Not only was it cliche, it was making her mascara wet, stinging her eyes.

"So we're your bros. Lucy was just doing this to check Gajeel's reaction. So go out there and get him, Lev!" Jet said encouragingly, giving her a quick, tight hug and pushing her towards the door.

"Okay. But... what about Droy?" Levy asked, looking at her other teammate, whose lower lip was trembling like crazy. Jet laughed.

"Droy's fine. Or, he will be. He's drunk for a reason." he said, patting his friend on the back. Levy beamed at them both- she loved them like crazy. They might not be boyfriend material in her mind, but they were her brothers, and always would be.

"Thanks guys." she said, before disappearing out the door. She barely heard the loud cheers and whistles that greeted her as she searched the circle for Gajeel. Her stomach dropped as she realized that he was gone.

"Levy!" She turned and saw Lucy waving at her from across the room, running. "He got up and left! Go, go, go!" she shouted.

Levy didn't need an invitation, but she took it gladly. Without at second thought, she took off, sprinting through the hall, jumping over circles of laughing people and dodging fights.

Her boots slapped against the floor, and her heart was hammering in her mouth as she ran after Gajeel.

* * *

/0


End file.
